3 Cardinals Predictions, Including Future Of Nolan Arenado

There's no question that these next few months are going to have a long-term impact on the St. Louis Cardinals organization as a whole.

There's been so much noise about potential trades for the organization. Let's take a step back for a second. Most of the chatter actually stems back to last offseason. The Cardinals tried to make a run in 2024. They signed Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson ahead of the campaign and then acquired Erick Fedde ahead of the 2024 trade deadline with the hopes of making a playoff run. It didn't work out and after the season, then-Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said the team would be looking to "reset" and specifically talked about trading veterans away, including Nolan Arenado.

The reason why the rumors and noise have lasted this long is because the Cardinals weren't able to make the trades it initially insinuated that it wanted to due to no-trade clauses. So, the team entered the 2025 campaign with low expectations and ended up selling ahead of the deadline. Now, the offseason is here and there's potential for moves, especially with Arenado, Gray, and Nolan Gorman.

Will any return?

Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) runs home after his solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Here are Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and Nolan Gorman offseason prediction:

Nolan Arenado
There's simply been too much noise around this one. Arenado is 34 years old and is a Hall of Fame-level talent. He is signed for two more seasons and can still play. At the end of the season, Arenado made it clear that he will be more open to waiving his no-trade clause after reportedly giving the team a list of five teams he would waive it for last year.

Verdict: Trade. It may not be right away as free agency shakes out, but some contender should roll the dice on Arenado.

Sonny Gray
Gray was clear for a while that he didn't want to waive his no-trade clause. That idea thawed a bit towards the end of the season. There surely will be interest, but Chaim Bloom did say there was more of a "pathway" to keeping Gray than Arenado.

Verdict: Trade. This one is much closer to Arenado and could go either way. But, Gray is 35 years old. If the Cardinals don't show any signs of a team that looks to make the playoffs next year, it makes sense for Gray to join a contender.

Nolan Gorman
Gorman has some significant pop, but he's been pretty inconsistent outside of the 2023 season when he had 27 homers and 76 RBIs. That's not all his fault. He's had an inconsistent role with the team pretty much the whole time over the last four years, although 2023 was his most consistent role. It doesn't seem like things are going to get easier. Even if the Cardinals trade Arenado and open up third base, it wouldn't necessarily give Gorman a clear path to a consistent role in the infield. There are questions about JJ Wetherholt, Thomas Saggese, and even Brendan Donovan, plus others down in the minors.

Verdict: Trade. He's young and has promise, but the role just doesn't seem to be here in St. Louis.

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