Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Fan Favorite Rewarded, Gold Glover Snubbed In Latest Arbitration Updates

St. Louis is being careful with spending this winter
Nate Hagerty|
May 8, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view of the tarp on the field as storms move through the St. Louis region delaying a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
May 8, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view of the tarp on the field as storms move through the St. Louis region delaying a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are gearing up for the 2025 season and are nearly finished sorting through arbitration decisions with eligible players.

Given that the Cardinals are committed to shedding payroll this winter, it doesn't come as a surprise that several St. Louis players were forced to settle with the organization through an arbitrator.

On Wednesday, a pair of Cardinals outfielders learned what they'll earn in 2025 -- one walked away satisfied, while the other felt the wrath of the franchise's payroll reduction efforts.

"Cardinals arbitration updates, per sources: Lars Nootbar won his case and will earn $2.95 million," MLB.com's Mark Feinsand first reported Wednesday afternoon. "The Cardinals had filed at $2.45 million. Brendan Donovan lost his case and will earn $2.85 million. He had filed for $3.3 million."

With Nootbaar and Donovan's arbitration hearings over, the Cardinals are waiting to hear how right-handed pitcher Andre Pallante's case will be determined.

Considering that Donovan is essential to the organization's future, it's disappointing but not surprising that the Cardinals weren't able to settle outside of arbitration.

However, St. Louis did the same thing to utility man Tommy Edman last offseason before the Cardinals dealt him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a lopsided three-team transaction at the trade deadline.

Unlike Edman, Donovan doesn't have a history of injuries, so it's challenging to see why the Cardinals couldn't reach an agreement without an arbitrator, resulting in the Gold Glove utility man being shorted nearly $500k.

At the end of the day, St. Louis fans just want to see their beloved team be competitive again. Hopefully, Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. will be more lenient with his money when it comes time for the floundering franchise to spend big in free agency.

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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