Predicting which St. Louis Cardinals get traded this offseason

The St. Louis Cardinals are a hot topic of conversation at this year's General Manager meetings for the number of players on their roster who could be traded this offseason.

The Cardinals aren't facing a fire sale, but there are at least eight players who teams around the league seem to be circling and believe are available to some extent. With a lack of clarity in TV revenue for St. Louis (as is the case with many teams around the league) as well as the stated desire to move toward a younger roster, roster turnover is expected over the coming weeks and months.

I do not expect all eight of those players to be traded this offseason, but I do want to take some time to give my predictions for what guys I do foresee being dealt by the club, and who I think will likely stick around going into the season. Each case ranged from a variety of factors including the Cardinals' own desire to trade the player, the player's desire to leave St. Louis, and what the market actually looks like for said players.

These are my predictions, not necessarily how I would handle the situations if I were the Cardinals.

Ryan Helsley: Traded

It feels like one of the Cardinals' worst-kept secrets that Ryan Helsley will eventually be traded this offseason. The Cardinals do not have to trade Helsley, who has one year remaining of arbitration and just led all of baseball with 49 saves while posting a 2.04 ERA in 2024, but he makes way too much sense as a trade candidate.

Jeff Passan of ESPN reiterated the reports we've heard locally that Helsley will be available in trades, and even with a name like Devin Williams being available as well, there should be strong interest (and offers) out there for Helsley. The Cardinals would be wise to jump on the best offer available to them, maximizing his value and setting the club up for success in 2026 and beyond.

Helsley has pitched so well in recent years that he should be looking at a massive payday in free agency next offseason. It is hard to imagine a scenario where the Cardinals sign him long-term, and for as much of a Helsley fan as I am, I don't find it to be a wise investment to extend a closer on that kind of deal.

Miles Mikolas: Stay

It may sound like weird logic, but I would make almost the exact opposite argument for the Cardinals and Miles Mikolas. He is not good anymore, but with the direction the Cardinals are heading in next season, it makes little sense to eat all the money they'd need to in order to just move him off of the club.

If a deal is out there for Mikolas and the Cardinals have enough arms to cover innings without him, sure, they can trade him. But there are other arms on this staff that they need to trade because of the value they can get in return. If the Cardinals move Mikolas, all it will do is shake off the bit of salary they don't have to eat, and they won't be getting anything meaningful in return.

Instead, they should prioritize moving some of those other arms that I will reference later and then let Mikolas' contract run out this season. Let him eat innings. If young arms are ready to surpass him, they can release him. I just don't see why they need to be in a rush to trade him.