The Cardinals didn't use the word "rebuild" at last week's press conference, but it's abundantly clear that they're taking a future-focused approach and stepping back from what's been a perennial goal of fielding a contender for decades. The 2025 season will be president of baseball operations John Mozeliak's final year on the job. A new era of Cardinals baseball is approaching. Let's break down what the offseason could entail.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Nolan Arenado, 3B: $73MM through 2027
- Sonny Gray, RHP: $65MM through 2026 (includes buyout of 2027 club option)
- Willson Contreras, C: $59.5MM through 2027 (includes buyout of 2028 club option)
- Miles Mikolas, RHP: $16MM through 2025
- Steven Matz, LHP: $12MM through 2025
- Erick Fedde, RHP: $7.5MM through 2025
Option Decisions
- Kyle Gibson, RHP: $12MM club option with $1MM buyout
- Lance Lynn, RHP: $12MM club option with $1MM buyout
- Keynan Middleton, RHP: $6MM club option with $1MM buyout
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Ryan Helsley (5.105): $6.9MM
- JoJo Romero (4.045): $1.9MM
- John King (3.145): $1.5MM
- Lars Nootbaar (3.076): $2.5MM
- Brendan Donovan (3.000): $3.6MM
- Andre Pallante (2.145): $2.3MM
- Non-tender candidates: None
Free Agents
As the Cardinals' lackluster season drew to a close, it became increasingly clear that changes were on the horizon. Speculation ranged from the front office to the dugout. Ultimately, manager Oli Marmol will remain in place for the 2025 season, and Mozeliak will return for an 18th season leading baseball operations -- but with a caveat. Former Rays senior vice president and Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom will oversee player development next season before taking the reins as the Cardinals' new president of baseball ops. General manager Mike Girsch has already been reassigned. In the dugout, several coaches have been let go already.
It feels almost foreign to be discussing the Cardinals, a bastion of competitive rosters in the NL Central for the past couple decades, as a team now focused not on who might be coming into the fold but rather who might be exiting the frame. That's reality, however, as much of the roster could turn over via a series of trades or surprising decisions on what otherwise seemed like straightforward option calls.
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30 Parks
Good luck, Cards fans. Prepare for never getting a straight answer as you build for the past, present, and future, all at one time, with no discernible plan.
FletcherFan
Sounds like my rebuilding O’s
bloomquist4hof
Donovan seems quite valuable in terms of projected marginal value the next three years. I’m wondering if they can get what he actual provides in terms of value from a trade. If they are cutting payroll, he’s cheap for now, pretty good and fairly young. Could make sense to hold onto him.
CarolinaCubsandKush
Boy would it be funny for the Cards to pay down Contreras’ salary for him to play on the Cubs again… Chicago certainly hasn’t replaced him since he left.
CardsFan57
I don’t see them paying down his salary. I can see them moving him for a very light return somewhere other than the NL Central.
Brick House Coffee Tables Inc
Contreras to Seattle for pitching would make sense. The Mariners could use him at DH for 90 games and then have him catch 55 along Cal Raleigh. The Mariners offense is bad and his salary isn’t that much higher than Justin Turner’s was in 2024.
brianjohnso1
I didn’t know Donovan was a switch-hitter. I guess he just chose to hit exclusively left-handed in 2024. 🙂
sw
He’s not.; he’s LHH. That’s an error.
sw
My curiosity is focused on what the Braves and Reds will offer for Gray, and how much the team is willing to paydown to demand more from them. Both teams need pitching. That could be a nice little bidding war.
sw
The other big questions is how much the team decides to cut spending due to the Ballys RSN implosion. I am scared that they get peanuts in return for Gray and Contreras when they could get significant value for each if they paydown their contracts by like 33-50%.
TerryTurnbuckle
After expansion and realignment they’ll be in the American League unless they decide to move to Memphis. It’s obvious they wore out their welcome with those fans and a move to Memphis could give em a fresh start
Daryl Pauley
What?