Bloom on releasing Arenado..”it’s not an option”

[mattmitchl44]

There is no reason to release Arenado, even if the Cardinals don't have any intention of starting him regularly at 3B.

If you can't trade him, go to ST and see if any other team loses their starting 3B to injury before the season starts and try to deal him then.

[sikeston bulldog2]

There is no reason to release Arenado, even if the Cardinals don't have any intention of starting him regularly at 3B.

If you can't trade him, go to ST and see if any other team loses their starting 3B to injury before the season starts and try to deal him then.

If arenado can become a .275 hitter, living on singles and doubles, with his glove, does he become an asset, minus the home runs, for this next year.

[ecleme22]

There is no reason to release Arenado, even if the Cardinals don't have any intention of starting him regularly at 3B.

If you can't trade him, go to ST and see if any other team loses their starting 3B to injury before the season starts and try to deal him then.

Exactly. Or Gorman blows out his knee.

It's the reason I didn't want to release Mikolas last spring training and rockolouie did.

If you can't trade him, open the season with him on the roster.

[OldRed]

There is no reason to release Arenado, even if the Cardinals don't have any intention of starting him regularly at 3B.

If you can't trade him, go to ST and see if any other team loses their starting 3B to injury before the season starts and try to deal him then.

Exactly. Or Gorman blows out his knee.

It's the reason I didn't want to release Mikolas last spring training and rockolouie did.

If you can't trade him, open the season with him on the roster.

And who can predict that he may have a bounce back year. We all know his defense is still good.

[ecleme22]

There is no reason to release Arenado, even if the Cardinals don't have any intention of starting him regularly at 3B.

If you can't trade him, go to ST and see if any other team loses their starting 3B to injury before the season starts and try to deal him then.

Exactly. Or Gorman blows out his knee.

It's the reason I didn't want to release Mikolas last spring training and rockolouie did.

If you can't trade him, open the season with him on the roster.

And who can predict that he may have a bounce back year. We all know his defense is still good.

No doubt.

[mattmitchl44]

There is no reason to release Arenado, even if the Cardinals don't have any intention of starting him regularly at 3B.

If you can't trade him, go to ST and see if any other team loses their starting 3B to injury before the season starts and try to deal him then.

Exactly. Or Gorman blows out his knee.

It's the reason I didn't want to release Mikolas last spring training and rockolouie did.

If you can't trade him, open the season with him on the roster.

And who can predict that he may have a bounce back year. We all know his defense is still good.

And there is probably a decent chance that his hitting bounces back a bit depending on how much PT he gets.

I'm not sure his value ever goes up significantly, but if you absolutely can't trade him now you might as well see.

[Melville]

If you can't trade him and he wants out and he's blocking the future, you gotta release him. Now if he doesn't want out, then keep him as a DH/3B, but the problem is I can't see The Marmot being smart enough to juggle multiple players playing multiple positions in different games.

He’s not blocking anyone. If they really earned it, they would be playing.

Heck, Gorman has had four years of essentially unlimited opportunity and still doesn’t deserve an automatic roster spot

+1 and Gorman is definitely not the future he’s going to suck again next season

We can all cross our fingers and hope that Gorman can actually approach the level of player in 2026 that ME-ville professes him to be.

I don't profess any player to be anything other than what he has shown.
Gorman, despite the strikeouts, has consistently shown himself to be at 80 runs scored / 80 RBI bat per every 600 PA's.
That is not an endorsement.
It is simply the statistical record established by 4 years of data.

Except he sucks so bad he could never amass 600 ABs in a single year cuz he blows chunks.

lol +1 he’s a black hole for all but a month or two of the season and makes himself unplayable and add in the back back he won’t get 600 at bats. Mel is taking a page from the O’Neil lovers book but but but if you give him 600 at bats lol

I appreciate the Paper Tyler reference.
I remind you that in September of 2021, I was the only person on the planet to correctly analyze that he was on a flukey and highly suspicious short term streak that he would never again repeat in his career - and I alone correctly advised trading him as quickly as possible that off-season before his value inevitably dipped.
I was, of course, brilliantly correct.
As is the case over 95% of the time.
There is a reason for that.
I am never for or against any player.
I am unbiased in all things and rely only on facts and data.
Fact is, despite the strikeouts, Gorman scores and drives in 80 runs per 600 PA's.
That is not an endorsement.
But it is a fact.

[Melville]

The argument is a moot point. There is not a better glove or position play than arenado. None. He’s the best in baseball. That should be a multiplier. Why is it not?

All the emphasis on arenado is his hitting. It’s gone light. Aside from that you have a good ball player.

The problem really is the money. A lite hitting gold glove caliber 3rd baseman has a price. When we meet that level he’s gone.

N/A is a better glove at 3b than Gorman, currently.
Better than Donovan or Fermin?
Unknown.
But N/A is no more than average defensively and that has been true for the past few years.

[sikeston bulldog2]

The argument is a moot point. There is not a better glove or position play than arenado. None. He’s the best in baseball. That should be a multiplier. Why is it not?

All the emphasis on arenado is his hitting. It’s gone light. Aside from that you have a good ball player.

The problem really is the money. A lite hitting gold glove caliber 3rd baseman has a price. When we meet that level he’s gone.

N/A is a better glove at 3b than Gorman, currently.
Better than Donovan or Fermin?
Unknown.
But N/A is no more than average defensively and that has been true for the past few years.

If he still was a power hitter teams would clamor for him. Average defense. His average defense is GG kevel for most. If he didn’t carry such a high price tag, both ways, he’d been gone long time ago.

[Bomber1]

Well I don't see the motivation to release him since there aren't any other 3B challenging for playing time. I think the team can move forward with their plans whether they have Arenado or not.

This.

If they can’t trade Arenado maybe they can trade Gorman.

Hopefully somebody can emerge for 2028.

No way should or will they just release Arenado. I expect a bit of offensive rebound this year for him, and his defense is still very solid.

[rockondlouie]

If they can't find a taker, then it likely opens the door to N. Gorman being dealt unless Bloom see's him as the (near) primary DH which is actually preferable to him being at 3rd base.

From all reports NADO's 100% healthy (unlike 2025) and highly motivated to go to a contender.

It's not out of the realm of possibility he has a solid start to the season (He had a .747 OPS last Mar/Apr in his first 122 PA's) that increases interest in him by June.

There was never going to be a return (re: prospect) who was ever going to be a difference maker in St. Louis when he's traded.

No way I'd DFA him either.

[Bomber1]

If you can't trade him and he wants out and he's blocking the future, you gotta release him. Now if he doesn't want out, then keep him as a DH/3B, but the problem is I can't see The Marmot being smart enough to juggle multiple players playing multiple positions in different games.

He’s not blocking anyone. If they really earned it, they would be playing.

Heck, Gorman has had four years of essentially unlimited opportunity and still doesn’t deserve an automatic roster spot

+1 and Gorman is definitely not the future he’s going to suck again next season

We can all cross our fingers and hope that Gorman can actually approach the level of player in 2026 that ME-ville professes him to be.

In this respect Melville is eerily similar to Mozeliak - both continue to hope an average-to-bad ML player will suddenly become a good ML player.

And just as Mozeliak was wrong, so will Melville be wrong.

[imetsatchelpaige]

Well I don't see the motivation to release him since there aren't any other 3B challenging for playing time. I think the team can move forward with their plans whether they have Arenado or not.

The Cardinals have multiple players who are better at 3b right now than N/A.
That was true throughout the 2025 season as well.

Who?

You can't name one

Statistically, Gorman, Donovan, and even Fermin were all far more productive than N/A in 2025.
Next year, Wetherholt will join that list - at a minimum.
Though unlikely, it would not be a shock if 2 more did as well.

Statistically Gorman is a zero war player at third base.

NA is well above that and still has a higher ceiling.

JJW is a 2B. And Fermin is not a starter in any reality.

Agree on Gorman. But I don’t agree with your point on Furman. He hasn’t really been given a chance to start, but when he has, he’s looked very good.

[ScotchMIrish]

Arenado represents one of the last vestiges of the disappearing DeWitt Jr insistence on acquiring veterans for prospects to try to make the playoff every year. The other being Contreras.

I'm not surprised we are having trouble finding a team to take Arenado. We would likely have to pay his entire salary and even then a lot of teams wouldn't want him. Contreras should be easier to move. There could be a team willing to take his salary but we might be stuck with Arenado for another season. I haven't done a deep dive into the 3B position around the league but most rebuilding teams want a younger player at the position and I'm not sure there are any contending teams where Arenado would be better than their current 3B.

Perhaps a team will lose their 3B to injury and we can move him prior to July 31 but by then we aren't saving much money.

[Carp4Cy]

Well I don't see the motivation to release him since there aren't any other 3B challenging for playing time. I think the team can move forward with their plans whether they have Arenado or not.

The Cardinals have multiple players who are better at 3b right now than N/A.
That was true throughout the 2025 season as well.

Who?

You can't name one

Statistically, Gorman, Donovan, and even Fermin were all far more productive than N/A in 2025.
Next year, Wetherholt will join that list - at a minimum.
Though unlikely, it would not be a shock if 2 more did as well.

Statistically Gorman is a zero war player at third base.

NA is well above that and still has a higher ceiling.

JJW is a 2B. And Fermin is not a starter in any reality.

Agree on Gorman. But I don’t agree with your point on Furman. He hasn’t really been given a chance to start, but when he has, he’s looked very good.

He has no glove. He's passable at 2b, but his career fielding % at all levels is .933 at SS and .937 at 3b. That's awful. 20 points worse than Gorman and he's a butcher.

[ecleme22]

Well I don't see the motivation to release him since there aren't any other 3B challenging for playing time. I think the team can move forward with their plans whether they have Arenado or not.

The Cardinals have multiple players who are better at 3b right now than N/A.
That was true throughout the 2025 season as well.

Who?

You can't name one

Statistically, Gorman, Donovan, and even Fermin were all far more productive than N/A in 2025.
Next year, Wetherholt will join that list - at a minimum.
Though unlikely, it would not be a shock if 2 more did as well.

Statistically Gorman is a zero war player at third base.

NA is well above that and still has a higher ceiling.

JJW is a 2B. And Fermin is not a starter in any reality.

Agree on Gorman. But I don’t agree with your point on Furman. He hasn’t really been given a chance to start, but when he has, he’s looked very good.

He has no glove. He's passable at 2b, but his career fielding % at all levels is .933 at SS and .937 at 3b. That's awful. 20 points worse than Gorman and he's a butcher.

If Gorman and Arenado have one thing in common, it’s that Bloom won’t let either flail for that long.