The St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly been shopping veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado this winter and it makes quite a bit of sense. The Cardinals are seemingly looking to rebuild beginning this offseason as they've already cut ties with numerous veterans heading into 2025. Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, and Paul Goldschmidt have all been let go to pursue other opportunities.
Arenado is also attached to a massive contract, one which the Cardinals likely don't want to pay. But given this contract and his no-trade clause, it's been nearly impossible for St. Louis to move him.
Arenado reportedly cleared a trade to six teams: the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, and San Diego Padres. The Phillies, Red Sox, Mets, Dodgers, and Padres all already have star third basemen manning the hot corner. The Angels seem like a long shot.
As things stand right now, the Cardinals will be forced to hold onto Arenado, but they still may look to shave some money from their books by trading or cutting other players. Who could the Cardinals cut ties with after the recent news indicating Arenado will remain with the team?
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3. RHP Erick Fedde
There isn't really a veteran on the St. Louis roster who should be considered safe. It doesn't seem as though the Cardinals are doing a hesitant rebuild. Rather, it seems like they're going all in on rebuilding which could include trading starting pitcher Erick Fedde. Fedde was acquired at the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline in a blockbuster three team deal.
Fedde, 31, is set to be paid $7.5 million in 2025, which is a steal for a pitcher of his ability. But the Cardinals don't need veteran pitchers on their big league roster at this point. They need as much young talent as possible and Fedde would likely net a pretty decent return.
In a deal for Fedde, the Cardinals would be clearing nearly $10 million off their payroll while also landing a solid return of prospects. If St. Louis doesn't move him before the season begins, he's alomst a guarantee to be traded ahead of the trade deadline. It wouldn't make much sense for the Cardinals to risk injury or a poor start to the 2025 season. Trading him now makes the most sense.
2. RHP Miles Mikolas
If the Cardinals are looking to cut salary off their roster, they need to cut ties with their veteran pitching staff. Last season, St. Louis had a pitching staff led by multiple 30-plus year old righties. A few of those pitchers are gone now, but Fedde, Sonny Gray, and Miles Mikolas are all back. Not only are these three taking up spots in the rotation, but they're also eating a bunch of the Cardinals' money.
St. Louis has top prospects across the board who could all slot into the starting rotation to begin the 2025 season. Top prospect Tink Hence is set to be one of the top pitching prospects in the game and he seems ready to make his big league debut. But it's tough for him to crack the rotation while a starter like Mikolas takes a spot.
Mikolas is also set to earn nearly $20 million this season. He's the most obvious candidate to be cut by the Cardinals, largely because no team would likely be willing to trade for him unless St. Louis eats nearly his entire salary. Either way, the Cardinals need to find a way to get him off the roster sooner rather than later.
1. RHP Ryan Helsley
When looking at the Cardinals roster, there's one player who sticks out like a sore thumb as a candidate for the team to move ahead of the 2025 season. It's closer Ryan Helsley.
Helsley is one of the best closers in the entire league. He led the league in saves last season despite playing on a below average St. Louis team. The Cardinals have only gotten worse as the 2024 season ended and the 2025 looks to begin, so holding onto a star closer on an expiring contract makes absolutely no sense.
The Cardinals could likely land a nice haul in return for their flame-throwing star. Teams like the Boston Red Sox would be in the market to bring in a closer with the ceiling that Helsley has. Boston also has a lot of prospect capital to move in a potential deal, so even though they're out on Arenado, they could still be in on Helsley.
St. Louis could also shave off a few million dollars by dealing Helsley. It would be a win across the board for the front office.