St. Louis Cardinals trade rumors involve four All-Star talents

For the second season in a row, St. Louis Cardinals playoff run under manager Oliver Marmol. Now the front office is tasked with making sure a roster that has already won 83 games doesn’t take a step back. Ideally, the cards take a big step forward.

Still, chances are this Cardinals roster will look a lot different when the 2025 MLB season begins. This offseason could even involve trading multiple All-Stars.

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St. Louis Cardinals could trade Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and/or Ryan Helsley

St. Louis Cardinals have a talented group, but for some reason they had a hard time putting it all together in 2024. Barring some dumb luck like adding Juan Soto, Roki Sasaki, Corbin Burnes or a big bat that can help the Cards get more runs than they allow , it is possible that we have to see St. Louis take a short step back before we make progress.

With the Cardinals looking to trim payroll, one potential scenario involves trades for several impact players. According to MLB insider William Fleitch, the four names that could be on the Cardinals trade block include new first baseman Willson Contreras, third baseman Nolan Arenado, or pitchers Sonny Gray and Ryan Helsley.

“They’ve talked about openly cutting salaries. It’s really a focus on the young players. The Cardinals always try to compete for a championship every year. They might just try to reset a little bit and focus on those young players. Which I think leaves four pretty clear trade opportunities Contreras move to first base could theoretically take him off the market.”

MLB’s William Fleitch at St. Louis Cardinals

Fleitch went on to name others, including Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and MLB saves leader Ryan Helsley. Each are MLB All-Stars and would likely have a significant trade market if they became available.

The Cardinals could impact the trade market in a big way this winter.@williamfleitch joins #MLBNHotStove to detail St. Louis’ direction this offseason and some potential candidates who could be on the block. pic.twitter.com/ekg98KpUh3

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 14, 2024

The question is, how eager are the Cardinals to shed salary? Should they commit to a near total fire sale that removes some of the team’s most popular players from St. Louis? All it takes is an offer that’s too good to refuse.

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