The Cardinals officially appointed a new director of baseball operations for the first time in nearly two decades. As announced at the start of last offseason, longtime president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has resigned and passed the torch to former Rays and Red Sox executive Chaim Bloom, who previously served as a senior adviser to the Cardinals. Bloom’s end-of-season press conference sheds light on what has been very clear in the past 12 months: It will be a different offseason than the Cardinals have experienced in recent memory – possibly the beginning of a year-long reconstruction.
Guarantee Contract
- Nolan Arenado3B: 42MM by 2027 (Rocky Mountains pays 5MM)
- Wilson Contreras1B: USD 41MM by 2027 (including buyout 2028 club option)
- Sonny GrayRHP: 40MM by 2026 (including buyout for club options in 2027)
2026 Guarantee: $75MM
Total long-term guarantee: USD 117.5MM by 2027
Option decision
A player eligible for arbitration (serving hours in brackets; salary forecast provided by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
Non-tender candidates: Alcala, King
Free agent
Early in last offseason, the Cardinals seemed likely to start the rebuild that seems more likely now. Instead, the banned deal clause in the contracts of veterans Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado and Wilson Contreras hindered these plans. Gray and Contreras seemed not worried about the youth movement’s ideas and soon let the team know that they would like to stay in St. Louis. Arenado is open to the trading plan, but only to a limited number of clubs. He eventually vetoed the deal with the Astros and stayed in St. Louis.
This time, at least one of these veterans is likely to change hands. Gray admitted after the final start that after discussing the team’s direction with Bloom, he had to consider a trading plan this winter. Contreras said he still tends to stay in St. Louis, but he would consider abandoning non-trade protections if appropriate. Arenaldo said he intends to be more open to the wider team this time.
That said, there are obvious obstacles when trading everyone on the team, and there is good reason to wonder how much (if any) the Cardinals can get back in exchange for these expensive veterans. They are reportedly willing to pay a portion of their remaining wages (which would be necessary), but if they really want to acquire meaningful prospect value, there are more noteworthy trade avenues to explore.
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