Cardinals $87.5 Million All-Star Wants To Stay: Insider

With the 2025 Major League Baseball season winding down, there already has been rumors coming out for the upcoming offseason when it comes to the St. Louis Cardinals.

This, of course, is in reference to who will come back and who could potentially be out of the organization before the 2026 season begins. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal weighed in with some thoughts on the team on Tuesday and one thing that he shared is that as of now, Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras has continued to make it clear that he doesn't want to waive his no-trade clause.

Will the Cardinals keep Willson Contreras?

Sep 15, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (40) celebrates after hitting a RBI single against the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

"First baseman Willson Contreras has said he does not want to waive his no-trade clause," Rosenthal said. "Outfielder Lars Nootbaar could be expendable if the Cardinals commit to Victor Scott II and/or Nathan Church. Jimmy Crooks heads the team’s deep list of catching prospects, and top prospect JJ Wetherholt should fit somewhere in the team’s infield. Cardinals fans can take comfort in this much: While Chaim Bloom’s four years in Boston were turbulent, the team’s incoming head of baseball operations helped set up the Red Sox for their current success.

"Under Bloom, the Red Sox drafted Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, two of the four players they traded for Garrett Crochet and their latest pitching callup, Connelly Early. Bloom also drafted the pitching prospect Craig Breslow later traded for Carlos Narváez, and acquired Wilyer Abreu from the Astros in a trade for Christian Vázquez."

This was the case this summer ahead of the trade deadline and last offseason as well. Rumors about Contreras picked up last offseason but he squashed them and then the team moved him over to first base to replace Paul Goldschmidt.

Contreras is under contract for two more seasons beyond the 2025 campaign. He signed a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the Cardinals. On top of this, Contreras also has a club option built into his deal for the 2028 season as well. Things could always change, but if Contreras wants to stay, he has the no-trade clause and can control his fate.

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