Cardinals 2025 MVP Prediction Could Complicate Franchise's Trade Deadline Plans

The St. Louis Cardinals are 5-7 and 2 1/2 games behind the hated Chicago Cubs in the National League Central but fortunately, this year's team has played much better than its record suggests.

For instance, the Cardinals' offense is among the league's best -- ranking third in runs scored (72) and hits (124), second in batting average (.278) and fourth in OPS (.788). If the pitching staff wakes up and the lineup stays hot, St. Louis could legitimately bid to reclaim the NL Central throne for the first time since 2022 after all's said and done at the end of this season.

The 162-game Major League Baseball season is long, so it's too early to predict whether the Cardinals will sell or buy at the trade deadline. However, the fan favorite one insider is predicting to be St. Louis' most valuable player could complicate the front office's summer plans.

"St. Louis Cardinals: Nolan Arenado," Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly wrote Thursday after suggesting that Arenado will be the Cardinals' 2025 MVP. "The Cardinals are a tough team to pick for. Nolan Arenado is a future Hall of Famer who's hitting .342 early in 2025 after posting a .746 OPS over the past two seasons. There's a chance he tapers off or gets traded if the Cardinals fall out of playoff contention, but perhaps he'll continue having a resurgence on a team that might be better than we anticipated."

Arenado is batting .310 with 13 hits, four extra-base hits including one home run, six RBIs and a .872 OPS in 42 at-bats across 11 games played for the Cardinals this season.

Trading the 10-time Gold Glove defender this past offseason was St. Louis' front office's top priority but due to Arenado enduring the worst offensive campaign of his illustrious 13-year career in 2024 and having roughly three years and $64 million remaining on his full no-trade clause contract, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak couldn't find a suitor.

If Arenado continues to return to his five-time Silver Slugger form, it's likely that Mozeliak won't struggle at the trade deadline to find a new landing spot for the 33-year-old as much as he did over the winter.

However, the Cardinals haven't seen the postseason since 2022, when St. Louis legends Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols still played for the 11-time World Series champions.

Cardinals fans will undoubtedly be displeased if the franchise is competitive at the trade deadline but Mozeliak decides to trade Arenado anyway. Doing so would significantly impact the team's ability to win the hyper-competitive NL Central and might prevent an improbable playoff run -- at least for this season.

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