Cardinals Hit Jackpot With Offseason Willson Contreras-Red Sox Trade

The Cardinals faced a lot of tough decisions this offseason, but they seemingly made a lot of good choices...

Feb 22, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras (40) hits a sacrifice RBI during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals came into the offseason with a lot of big decisions to make and they didn't shy away from making any of them.

They traded four of their top players to contending teams in an effort to kickstart their rebuild in the right direction. They sent Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras to the Boston Red Sox in a pair of early offseason trades. Nolan Arenado was sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a bit of a salary dump. Finally, they opted to swing a three-team blockbuster to send Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners.

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Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently shared a lot of high praise for the trade that sent Contreras to the Red Sox, going as far as to list it as one of the best moves the Cardinals made all offseason. The addition of Hunter Dobbins, who's currently injured, should age like fine wine, alongside the other prospects brought over in the trade.

Trading Willson Contreras was the best decision the Cardinals could make

Feb 22, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras (40) catches the ball at first base after Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Myles Straw (3) was safe during the first inning at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

"Ideally, this is what the Cardinals offseason would have looked like a year ago, but they have officially kicked off rebuilding efforts by trading away their three high-priced veterans and leaning into a youth movement," Reuter wrote. "They also shipped out 2025 All-Star Brendan Donovan, but the clear focus here was shedding salary, and the three guys listed above saved the team more money when they were flipped to contenders."

At one point, it didn't seem like the Cardinals would be able to get anything out of Contreras, even though he's a productive bat. He's older than most teams like their players to be. There are reports indicating he has an attitude problem that could impact the clubhouse.

But the Red Sox opted to trade for him and none of these rumored issues seem to bother Boston. In fact, he's fit in perfectly.

The Cardinals were able to land a trio of prospects for Contreras, one of which is the intriguing pitching prospect Hunter Dobbins.

Landing Dobbins feels like they hit the lottery. He's a fiery competitor with the ability to be a top of the rotation starter down the road. The righty put together a solid campiagn with 11 starts and two relief appearances for the Red Sox last year. He's going to look to build off that when he returns from injury with the Cardinals.

More MLB: Cardinals Already Getting Praise for Sonny Gray-Red Sox Trade