Could Arenado, Gray, and Contreras be traded in a Cardinals rebuild this offseason?

The St. Louis Cardinals will be experiencing sweeping changes like we have not seen before in the coming weeks, and as ownership and the front office prepare to retool or rebuild, it sounds like the fates of different veterans on the roster will be determined in the comings weeks.

If the Cardinals are indeed taking steps back in order to better position themselves long-term, it would make all of the sense in the world for them to consider moving players like Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras this offseason in a trade as well as letting Paul Goldschmidt walk in free agency.

Gray is under contract through the 2026 season, and both Arenado and Contreras are signed through 2027. While I'm sure the Cardinals would have interest in any of them sticking around to help develop the next young core, each of them may desire a change of scenery in order to have a chance at winning in the final stretches of their primes or careers. All three have no-trade clauses, meaning they have control over whether or not they stay, and if they are traded, where they go.

Gray came to St. Louis in part because of his desire to win but also due to the proximity to home (Nashville). It will be interesting to see how open he would be to a trade this offseason, and whether or not he'd only want to go to places like Cincinnati or Atlanta that are close to home like St. Louis. I do think Gray would get the Cardinals something in a trade, but they could get far more if they are willing to eat some of the remaining salary he has.

Contreras to me is the most valuable piece of the three that they can trade. Over the last two seasons, Contreras has been one of the best hitters in all of baseball and is set to make just $18 million per year over the duration of his contract. That is an absolute bargain for the kind of production he puts up. Whether a team sees him as a catcher, first baseman, designated hitter, outfielder, or combination of those things, his bat alone should bring St. Louis value.

Contreras was critical of the state of the Cardinals when asked following their final home game. He sounds like a guy who wants to win, and if the Cardinals are going in the other direction, I think he'll want to find a new home as well.

Arenado's tenure in St. Louis has been complicated. Yes, he did have a top-3 MVP finish in 2022, but outside of that, it has been a pretty dissapointing tenure. The Cardinals have not won a single playoff game with Arenado on their roster, and I think both sides could use a fresh start at this point.

Finding a suitor for Arenado may be tricky though. His contract does go down each year ($32 million in 2025, $27 million in 2026, and $15 million in 2027) with the Rockies already paying $5 million of his contract in both 2025 and 2026. Arenado is coming off two straight down years, so the Cardinals may have to get creative and pay a bit of his contract as well to get him off the books.

My guess is that Arenado would desire this as well. He wants to win, and it clearly wears on him when he is in a losing environment. That is a flaw in his game he has to figure out, as players of his caliber need to be resilient and help lead clubs through the valleys, not make matters worse with his own play and attitude.

Like Contreras and Gray. Arenado can control where he is traded to, so my eyes would be on the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that's even if they want to take on Arenado at this point. They've long been interested in him though, and considering money grows on trees for them and they won't have to give up real value, I could see a match here.

I do find it interesting that Chaim Bloom is expected to lead many of the changes coming to the Cardinals, and when he took over in Boston, he was tasked with moving on from a franchise icon in Mookie Betts and the bad contract that David Price was given. It sounds like he may have a similar situation on his hands.

Well, Katie Woo alluded to those conversations happening over the coming days and weeks, so I am sure we will start to get more information regarding where the Cardinals and those players are headed. Considering how deep the changes coming to the organization sound, I would be shocked if we don't see at least one of those guys traded, if not all three.

Change is hard, but it is necessary here. And moving on from these guys may help jumpstart this rebuild St. Louis is facing.