Cardinals On Top Early After Offseason Trades, Including Nolan Arenado

The St. Louis Cardinals certainly look different right now after all of the offseason trades.

Mar 18, 2026; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) looks for the ball against the Chicago Cubs in the second inning at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

It has been a roller coaster of a week across Major League Baseball, to say the least.

After a long lay-off, meaningful baseball games finally returned last week with the vast majority of teams around the league beginning their seasons on Thursday, March 26. The New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants got the action started a bit early on Wednesday, March 25. Regardless, now teams around the league have a series under their belts already. For the St. Louis Cardinals, this was positive.

St. Louis went 2-1 in its first series of the season while facing off against the Tampa Bay Rays. There are plenty of teams around the league who weren't so fortunate with their first series of the year. For St. Louis, it looks much different than it did at this point last year. The youth movement is here and is led by JJ Wetherholt, who shined in his first series in the big leagues. The Cardinals transformed this organization throughout the offseason, including by trading Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray away.

Everything is looking up for the Cardinals right now. But what about the four veterans who were moved? Let's take a look at how their seasons have begun.

Nolan Arenado

Mar 28, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) throws to first for an out during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Team: Arizona Diamondbacks

Record: 0-3

Stats: .091/.091/.091 (1-for-11) with five strikeouts (3 Games)

Brendan Donovan

Mar 26, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Brendan Donovan (33) runs the bases after hitting a double against the Cleveland Guardians during the fifth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Team: Seattle Mariners

Record: 2-2

Stats: .429/.556/.929 (6-for-14) with two home runs, four RBIs, one stolen base, two walks, four strikeouts and four runs scored

Willson Contreras

Feb 26, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras (40) shakes hands with temmates after scoring a run in the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Team: Boston Red Sox

Record: 1-2

Stats: .111/.429/.111 (1-for-9) with one run scored, four walks and three strikeouts

Sonny Gray

Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray (54) delivers a pitch in the third inning between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Saturday, March 28, 2026. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Team: Boston Red Sox

Record: 1-2

Stats: One start, 6.75 ERA (three earned runs allowed), four innings pitched, five strikeouts and one walk

Takeaways

When it comes to these four veterans, much was said throughout the offseason. All of them are former All-Stars who played big roles for the Cardinals and now are all elsewhere. Through one week, Donovan looks like the biggest loss. He's thriving over in Seattle, but the Cardinals have done a good job replacing him with Wetherholt at second base and Nolan Gorman at third base. Arenado, Contreras and Gray haven't done much yet. Alec Burleson has looked like a man on a mission at first base replacing Contreras, Gorman has been good at third base and the rotation has been strong overall with Matthew Liberatore and Michael McGreevy. It's a long season, but the moves look good for St. Louis so far.