Arenado used his no-trade clause to block a potential trade to the Astros, Mark Feinsand, John Denton and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com report. The report says the Cardinals were willing to send $15-20 million to the Astros to help cover part of Arenado's salary, but the third baseman informed St. Louis he would not waive his no-trade clause to go to Houston. It's not clear what the Cardinals would have received in return. While the two sides are still having "ongoing talks," the Astros "aren't holding out much hope that a deal will get done."
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Arenado used his no-trade clause to block a potential trade to the Astros, Mark Feinsand, John Denton and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com report. The report says the Cardinals were willing to send $15-20 million to the Astros to help cover part of Arenado's salary, but the third baseman informed St. Louis he would not waive his no-trade clause to go to Houston. It's not clear what the Cardinals would have received in return. While the two sides are still having "ongoing talks," the Astros "aren't holding out much hope that a deal will get done."
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has said the team would like to see Gorman receive close to 600 at-bats next season, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports. Gorman spent the final five-plus weeks of the 2024 season in the minors and finished with a .671 OPS and 37.6 percent strikeout rate. However, the Cardinals are committed to giving their younger players a long leash in 2025 and Gorman will be one of the beneficiaries. What position Gorman plays is not yet clear. He's seen most of his starts at the major-league level at second base and could play there, but moving back to his natural third base position is also an option if the Cardinals trade Nolan Arenado.
The Cardinals signed Vilade to a minor-league contract Tuesday that includes an invitation to spring training. Vilade saw limited action with the Tigers in 2024, producing a .453 OPS in 17 games. He spent most of the year at Triple-A Toledo, slashing .278/.346/.449 with 13 homers and 20 stolen bases. Slated to turn 26 in February, Vilade saw starts at every position but shortstop, catcher and pitcher with Toledo.
Arenado is willing to play some first base in order to create roster flexibility for the team acquiring him in a potential trade, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports. A large part of Arenado's value comes from his defense at third base, so it's not clear how many clubs would be looking to shift him to the other side of the diamond even on a part-time basis. Still, some flexibility can't hurt and also seems to speak to Arenado's eagerness to waive his no-trade clause that he's even willing to entertain the possibility. Woo notes that a few teams have expressed interest in Arenado, but those talks "have yet to yield any substantive progress." However, negotiations are expected to pick up around the winter meetings and there is a "growing sense" in the industry that Arenado will be dealt.
Rom (shoulder) cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday. The Cardinals added some prospects to the 40-man roster as Rule 5 draft protection, so Rom was a roster casualty. He had arthroscopic shoulder surgery in May and did not pitch at all in 2024. If he's healthy this spring, he should provide rotation depth at Triple-A.
Barrero signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Saturday and received an invitation to spring training, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports. Barrero owns just a .497 OPS across 447 plate appearances in his major-league career, and his offensive woes followed him to Triple-A last season, where he slashed .188/.277/.345 over 49 games. His chances of contributing for the Cardinals will remain low as long as he continues to struggle at the plate, though the 26-year-old may still see a healthy amount of playing time with Triple-A Memphis.
The Cardinals are not mulling a move to the rotation for Helsley, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. All 239 appearances for Helsley at the major-league level have come in relief, but he came up through the minors as a starting pitcher. While there has been some speculation that the Cardinals might consider giving the 30-year-old another chance to start, it does not appear that is in the plans following Helsley's major-league-leading 49 saves in 2024. They will, however, reportedly entertain trade offers for Helsley, who is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility.
The Cardinals are expected to gauge trade interest in Arenado this month, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Wednesday that at least one of the team's four players with no-trade clauses is open to the club exploring trade interest from other teams. It seems that player is Arenado, who is owed $74 million over the next three seasons (with $10 million of that being covered by the Rockies). Arenado will turn 34 in April and fell off to a .272/.325/.394 batting line with 16 home runs in 2024, although he was a Gold Glove finalist at third base. There would figure to be plenty of interest in the eight-time All-Star even as he's coming off a down season, although trade talks will be complicated since Arenado can essentially dictate his landing spot.
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