Three contracts the St. Louis Cardinals should unload at the Winter Meetings

With the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings starting next week, the St. Louis Cardinals enter unfamiliar territory. Even though the team does not want to declare 2025 a "rebuild," that is what next season will be. The Cardinals want to play the younger players more, with Masyn Winn the centerpiece of the future.

So whose contracts should the Cardinals offload before the start of Spring Training?

Miles Mikolas

While the most noteworthy news has been the trade speculation regarding Nolan Arenado (more on that later), starting pitcher Miles Mikolas is the first candidate to be offloaded. In his second year of the two-year extension he signed before 2023, he registered a paltry -0.2 WAR in 171.2 innings pitched last season.

Mikolas has been the most durable starting pitcher on the Cardinals roster, having pitched the most innings by a starter in the last two seasons. If the Cardinals can find a trade suitor, and Mikolas is willing to waive his no-trade clause, then a deal should be made.

Steven Matz

Injuries have set back Steven Matz's production with the Cardinals. In two of Matz's three seasons in St. Louis, he has failed to pitch over 50 innings. In 2024, back spasms limited Matz to 12 games last year. When he was healthy, it wasn't good. Matz posted an ERA over five, a career-high 4.88 FIP, resulting in a -0.2 WAR.

Trading Steven Matz this offseason will be challenging because of his injury history and lack of production, but it is not impossible if Matz is willing to move to the bullpen.

Nolan Arenado

It's time to move on from Nolan Arenado, as much as it hurts to say as someone who enjoyed watching him play third base. Watching Arenado last year was hard, not from a statistical standpoint, but his body language left a lot to be desired. Recently, he posted on Instagram not once but twice, potentially hinting about a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Like Miles Mikolas, Arenado has a no-trade clause that will complicate a potential deal, but if the Cardinals want to move forward with this youth movement, they must find a way. An Arenado trade also allows Jordan Walker to move to third base, a position he is more comfortable in than in right field.