The St. Louis Cardinals don't know what they are. Yes, seriously. The Cardinals are retooling, or so we were told, but are off to a 4-3 start to the regular season and have their eyes set on an NL Wild Card spot if all goes right. Of course, it's far too early to declare the Cardinals contenders. A lot would have to go right for this team, and the pitching staff in particular is lacking.
This winter the Cardinals let Paul Goldschmidt walk and tried to trade away Nolan Arenado to no avail. Arenado has a no-trade clause, which makes any deal difficult without his immediate approval. St. Louis tried to send Arenado to Houston – a team many would classify as a contender – but the gold glove regular wanted nothing to do with it. Arenado has roots in St. Louis and would prefer to stay there, minus a few friendly destinations he provided John Mozeliak and the front office.
St. Louis Cardinals aren't averse to no-trade clauses, even after Nolan Arenado debacle
One would wonder if the experience of dealing with Arenado's no-trade clause might make the Cardinals weary of handing them out in the future. The answer might surprise you.
"The reason those are given is we felt like those were below-market deals to come to St. Louis," Mozeliak said. "The market is getting more and more competitive. It feels like the coastal teams have a benefit. For us, when you think back to the last 30 years, that was our competitive advantage."
The numbers back Mozeliak up in that payrolls on the coasts, as well as free-agent interest, tends to be higher. Yet, the Cardinals are a historic organization with plenty of cache and financial capital to convince star players to come to St. Louis. Blaming organizations like the Dodgers, Mets or Yankees for spending is a weak argument as a whole.
"There was a lot of chatter about us moving one of our veteran players. That didn't happen. Some of the things that we were thinking about in that transition didn't happen because of that, so we are where we are," Mozeliak continued.
John Mozeliak and the Cardinals have a common goal
Mozeliak gave a long-winded answer about the Cardinals walking two parallel paths as they try to develop young talent all the while contending with veterans. It's rare that both of those goals can occur in the same reality.
It's not uncommon for the best players in the game to have contracts featuring a no-trade clause. One could argue Arenado is the threshold of elite, even when he signed said deal in the first place. In that sense, Mozeliak and the Cardinals front office ought to learn from their mistake, rather than repeating history when the time comes.