'Don't Love That Idea': Cardinals Have No Plans To Trade Starters

The Cardinals would rather hold onto their starting pitchers
Feb 15, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak talks with media at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Feb 15, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak talks with media at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
In this story:

The St. Louis Cardinals have been quiet this offseason. They have been unable to reduce their payroll as they had planned to do to at the start of the offseason.

The best way for them to do that is to trade Nolan Arenado, but nothing has materialized. As such, the Cardinals have not felt comfortable pursuing any free agents. Cutting payroll is not necessary, but this is how they have chosen to operate this winter.

On Saturday, John Mozeliak was asked about the possibility of trading starting pitchers if they can't get rid of Arenado, and he didn't seem too pleased with the idea of taking that route.

"Don't really love that idea," Mozeliak said. “We really feel like we have some depth in our rotation right now, so I really don’t want to start preparing tearing away from that, in terms of thinking about moving a position player to achieve some financial goals. That would be something we could consider as well, but we really don’t want to."

While Mozeliak didn't completely shut down the idea, he doesn't seem terribly open to it. And to be fair, trading Steven Matz and Erick Fedde wouldn't clear nearly as much payroll space as Arenado would.

The Cardinals plans for this offseason have essentially gone south. Now, spring training approaches and the team still hasn't done anything that directly impacts their roster.

There is still time, but it's running out as the offseason winds down. We'll see if they can get something done.

More MLB: MLB Analyst Weighs In With Surprise Cardinals-Nolan Arenado Prediction


Published
Curt Bishop
CURT BISHOP

Curt Bishop is a freelance sports writer who graduated from Maryville University of St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Communication and currently writes as a contributor for various platforms covering Major League Baseball. Curt’s work includes covering trade and free agency predictions, as well as rumors and news.