The St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in a different situation compared to last offseason.
At the end of the 2024 season, the team talked about wanting to “reset,” but in reality, they made few significant roster changes—partly due to players with no-trade clauses. While they declined club options on players like Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, they weren’t able to overhaul the roster as planned. One example is Nolan Arenado, who reportedly provided a short list of teams he’d consider waiving his no-trade clause for, but no trade materialized.
He’s been clear over the last few weeks that he will likely be more willing to waive the no-trade clause for the right opportunity. That’s something the Cardinals still have to think about because the no-trade clause is still there, but The Athletic’s Katie Woo made it clear that she thinks Arenado will be moved this offseason on “Cardinals Territory.”
Where will Nolan Arenado go?
“Nolan Arenado said that he would be more open-minded to trade possibilities this winter and that he will expand his trade list,” Woo said. “Obviously, he did not disclose those teams. If we reverse back to the offseason prior, Nolan gave John Mozeliak a list of five teams that he would consider, key word consider, waiving his no-trade clause for. They were the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and the Houston Astros. We know how that saga went. That’s why we are here. Nolan is prepared for another winter of heavy trade discourse…
“Coming into this winter, at least to me, it feels much much more definitive that Nolan Arenado will not be a Cardinal come next year. Last year, I felt like it was 50-50 then I believed it was 75-25 when Mo said trading Arenado was priority No. 1, 2, and 3…For the Cardinals, it doesn’t make sense to keep Nolan. For Nolan, it doesn’t make sense to stay here.
If this is the end of the road, it has been a good one for Arenado and the Cardinals.
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