Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals 'Would Have Loved' To Trade All-Star Slugger At Deadline

There's some news coming out about the Cardinals trade deadline...
Zach Pressnell|
Aug 2, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman (16) celebrates with first baseman Willson Contreras (40) after defeating the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images
Aug 2, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman (16) celebrates with first baseman Willson Contreras (40) after defeating the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals were rather conservative at the trade deadline. They opted to trade three expiring relief pitchers to land a haul of prospects, but the Cardinals didn't move any controllable players.

Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, and Brendan Donovan all remained on the roster, despite generating a bit of trade interest around the league. Still, the Cardinals weren't conservative all by choice. Some of their players never generated much of a market.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently reported the Cardinals "would have loved" to trade first baseman Willson Contreras at the trade deadline, but the slugger wouldn't waive his no-trade clause for any deal.

"The Cardinals would have loved to move starters Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas, and first baseman Willson Contreras, too, but all three told the Cardinals they would not waive their no-trade clauses," Nightengale wrote.

Trading Contreras would have been a huge move for the Cardinals to make, but it definitely would have worked in their favor. The veteran slugger is already 33 years old and he's signed through his age 35 season with a club option after that.

The Cardinals could have cleared well over $40 million off their payroll by trading the veteran, but his no-trade clause stopped a deal from happening.

There's potential that St. Louis tries to trade him again in the offseason. The slugger isn't going to be at his best by the next time the Cardinals are ready to field a competitive team. Holding him on the roster will help them win games, but it's not going to turn them into a World Series contender.

More MLB: Cardinals Fan Favorite All-Star Gaining Steam As Offseason Trade Candidate

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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