Nolan Arenado distraction has John Mozeliak poised to make one brutal offseason blunder

After a 2024 season where the St. Louis Cardinals failed to reach the postseason, the inevitable sell-off began. It started with declining the options on Lance Lynn, Keynan Middleton, and Kyle Gibson. John Mozeliak had a deal in place that would have sent Nolan Arenado to the Astros, but Arenado declined it, exercising his no trade clause. Since then, Paul Goldschmidt left for the Yankees, and Mozeliak has shown interest in shopping Erick Fedde and Steven Matz.

However, as of now, Mozeliak’s key goal appears to be moving Arenado. Moleziak has turned down an Arenado trade with the Yankees while he is fielding interest from other teams. But even as The Lou downsizes, they seem to holding onto one valuable player with only one year left on his contract.

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The Cardinals are rumored to be keeping closer Ryan Helsley

According to John Gambadoro, Ryan Helsley will remain a Cardinal. Gambo posted this about a potential D-Backs trade:

Helsley is one of the top relievers in the game and on the trade market, that is up until now. Last season, the formidable closer recorded an MLB best 49 saves, finishing 2024 with a 2.04 ERA.

Right now, holding onto Helsley through the entirety of his walk year would make no sense. With the Cards downsizing, it doesn’t seem they as though they are ready contend next season. St. Louis posted an 83-79 record, tying the Cubs for second in the NL Central and landing them six games out of the Wild Card. If all goes according to plan, the Cards will be without Arenado, Goldschmidt, Lynn, and Fedde, each of whom played important parts of the 2024 Cardinals’ team.

As a top reliever, Helsley would fetch a decent haul, even with just a year left. If the Cards aren’t looking to contend next season, which seems to be the case as they “reset,” they will need to part with Helsley. But this could just be a waiting game. If the Cardinals are contenders at the trade deadline (not likely), Helsley will remain a Cardinal. If they aren’t, the Cards might hold some added leverage on the reliever market among contending teams willing to shell out talent for a top-of-the-line closer. But for now, it seems Helsley won’t be moved this offseason.