Ranking the Cardinals 6 most valuable trade candidates they can sell this offseason

#3 - Willson Contreras

So far, Arenado and Matz are basically salary dumps and Fedde is looking to net the Cardinals someone in an organization's top ten prospects, but starting with Willson Contreras, I think the Cardinals get start getting real value for the last three players on this list.

Since 2022, Contreras has posted a 133 wRC+,19th among all qualified hitters in baseball and eighth among all right-handed hitters. His .828 OPS is 27th among all qualified hitters and 14th among all right-handed hitters.

If you look at Contreras' last 136 games (559 plate appearances), or basically, so the sample size of a major league regular, Contreras has posted a 157 wRC+, eight in all of baseball and four among right-handed bats, and his .924 OPS ranks tenth among all hitters and fifth among right-handed bats.

I don't think people understand how truly special Contreras has been as a hitter for quite some time now, and that should make him one of the most coveted trade assets this offseason.

Once free agency begins, Juan Soto is far and away the best hitter available this offseason, but he will likely require a contract north of $500 million in order to sign. The next position player available is probably Pete Alonso. But he's going to require a massive deal to sign as well. Outside of Alex Bregman or Willy Adames, things get thin quickly when it comes to adding bats to a lineup.

Contreras has three years remaining on his deal at $18 million per year with a club option for 2028 at $17.5 million. Bats like his should make a lot more money on the open market, so I really do think a club is going to see him as an attractive option as the offseason progresses.

Contreras is just 32 years old, and going back to that "dollars" stat again, was worth $21.2 million last year in just 84 games played. He was already worth more than the Cardinals paid him and he only got to play in half of their games. Assuming Contreras is open to waiving his no-trade clause, offensive needy teams should be all over him.

Even if a team does not like the idea of him as their catcher moving forward, his bat is so elite that he could be a DH only and be well worth the money. I'm sure a club could move him to first base or the corner outfield (which he has played before) and get his bat in their lineup for 500+ plate appearances a year. While that bat is so fun to have as your catcher, it's too good to not play pretty much every day.

I haven't listed many teams in this exercise, but when I think of Contreras, teams like the Mariners, Giants, Tigers, Rangers, Nationals, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and even the Rays stick out as teams who could use a big bat added to their lineup. Contreras would have to approve any trade that happens, which in theory limits his value a bit, but I have a hard time believing the Cardinals couldn't get something nice in return for him.

I really can't find great trade comparisons from recent memory for Contreras. Bats like his that have already been paid don't get moved unless it has been a failed contract and is now a salary dump, which is not the case here. I can't really give a concrete idea of what I think his value could be (although I am working on finding a good snapshot in upcoming weeks), but I do feel like a club would have to give up one of their best prospects or a package of pretty good ones to get the deal done. I'm not saying some top 50 prospect in baseball by any means, but I think the Cardinals get real value here.