After a few years of trying to contend, the St. Louis Cardinals have finally bit the bullet and decided to rebuild their roster. This began earlier this offseason when the Cardinals let a plethora of veteran pitchers walk away in free agency. Shortly thereafter, the Cardinals decided to let veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt walk in free agency and he signed with the New York Yankees soon after.
The biggest headline of the Cardinals' offseason was the Nolan Arenado trade saga. St. Louis was reportedly trying to trade Arenado for a large chunk of the offseason, but because of his no-trade clause and massive contract, they never found a suitor.
Arenado is likely going to be the next piece to fall in the rebuild with the Cardinals likely to trade him in the next year or so, but he's not the only player who could be off the roster as soon as this season. There are plenty of Cardinals players who are entering their final season in St. Louis including multiple players who could be traded over the next few months.
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3. RHP Miles Mikolas
When looking at the Cardinals payroll, there are a lot of players St. Louis could afford to cut ties with, but one veteran stands out among the pack. Miles Mikolas likely should have been traded a year or two ago, but he remains on the roster making nearly $20 million in 2025.
The righty hasn't been above league average in ERA for the last two seasons and he seems to be trending directly downward. Last season, he allowed over ten hits per nine innings with an ERA north of 5.00. This is hardly big league production, but it's definitely not worth nearly $20 million per year.
Luckily for the Cardinals, he's entering the final year of his contract and it's very unlikely they'll re-sign him next offseason. St. Louis needs to clear way for top prospects like Tink Hence to enter the big leagues without being blocked by a veteran like Mikolas. Hence is a key piece of the Cardinals' future while Mikolas is not.
In all likelihood, there's a chance the Cardinals try to offload his contract before the season is up. But it's a near guarantee they'll cut ties with him this offseason.
2. RHP Ryan Helsley
This one is pretty cut and dry. St. Louis closer Ryan Helsley is one of the best relievers in baseball and a rebuilding team like the Cardinals don't have a huge need for a closer like this when they're not expected to win too many games. Because of this, Helsley is one of the most likely players to be traded ahead of the 2025 trade deadline, regardless of team.
Besides that, Helsley is on an expiring contract and there's a very low chance St. Louis would be able to compete with the Red Sox or Dodgers to sign him on the open market. He's likely to land a huge deal when he hits free agency and the Cardinals shouldn't expect this contract to come with them.
In all likelihood, the flamethrowing righty will be traded this season and Cardinals fans won't need to worry about signing him next year. I favor the Red Sox as the best landing spot for him because of their aggressiveness to win and huge gap at closer, but anything could happen, especially with injuries.
1. 3B Nolan Arenado
Out of everybody on the roster, Arenado is the most likely candidate to be heading into his final year with the team. The Cardinals have been trying to trade him for the last few months and they'll likely get a deal done, either this year or next offseason. There are a few ways this deal could unfold.
One reason is Arenado expands his list of trade landing spots to a team like the Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, or New York Yankees. If he does this, a deal could be done as soon as this week.
Another reason is injuries. If a team like the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, or Los Angeles Dodgers experience serious injuries to one or two of their infielders, they could take a shot on Arenado.
The final reason a trade could come together is the Cardinals get desperate and offer to attach a prospect to his deal in order to get off his contract. If they do something like this, they could entice the Dodgers, Angels, Phillies or another team to take their shot on the star third baseman.
Either way, there's a very low chance he plays another season in St. Louis after this year.