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Glad we are starting to see some trade move's in this rebuilding phase of my beloved St. Louis Cardinals my confusion and conclusion is as of right now we are stuck with Nolan Arenado which some say is a for sure a MLB hall of famer, Myself thinks otherwise, but that is up for debate Unless, we practically give him away and pay him to play for someone else. (David Justice) Moneyball reference. I just find it hard to believe their is not a single team out there that could not use his great defense and name as a ticket selling thing. No one wants that contract for the player he has become and he has fallen very hard and fast. On that we should all be able to agree. So I get why the Redbirds will not just release him(cut bait) but if Nolan has any sense of pride or competitive juice flowing left in his body he has to step up and prove his body of work and quit resting on his laurels. I was a decent athlete, not even close on his level but there has to be some kind of drive to perform at an elite level and I don't get that sense from his actions. I believe he killed his own future by not accepting the Astro's trade last year. You may not agree but if he is still on our team come spring it will add a few years to us being competitive again. I think you get the best lottery ticket player you can without eating a ton of cash if that's even a possibility. I'm curious what everybody else thinks about this?

If this is a rebuild, I can see a scenario where holding on to Arenado makes the most sense.

To trade low on Arenado (2 years of control), you have to eat most of his $35M salary and the return won't be great. You maybe save $20M and don't get any high end prospects.

If you trade high on Donovan (2 years of control), you save probably $14M over 2 years but you should be able to get some high end prospects without eating any salary. The goal of a rebuild is to get high end prospects.

If you trade high on Burleson (3 years of control), you save probably $18M over 3 years but you should be able to get some high end prospects without eating any salary. The goal of a rebuild is to get high end prospects.

You can still trade Arenado at the trade deadline if he has a good first half in 2026, and he will know he's going to a playoff team. Some playoff team will have a hole at 3B they want to fill due to injury or poor performance.

Trade now - value can only go down
1 Gray (mutual option was not likely to happen)
2 Donovan
3 Contreras (option was likely to happen unless he tails off)
3 Burleson

Trade at the trade deadline
1 Romero
1 Dustin May (mutual option not likely to happen)
2 Arenado
2 Nootbar

C Pages
DH Herrera
1B Gorman - one last try
2B Wetherholt
SS Winn
3B Arenado for 1st half
LF Nootbar for 1st half
CF Scott
RF Walker - one last try

cardstatman wrote: ↑22 Dec 2025 10:56 am If this is a rebuild, I can see a scenario where holding on to Arenado makes the most sense.

To trade low on Arenado (2 years of control), you have to eat most of his $35M salary and the return won't be great. You maybe save $20M and don't get any high end prospects.

If you trade high on Donovan (2 years of control), you save probably $14M over 2 years but you should be able to get some high end prospects without eating any salary. The goal of a rebuild is to get high end prospects.

If you trade high on Burleson (3 years of control), you save probably $18M over 3 years but you should be able to get some high end prospects without eating any salary. The goal of a rebuild is to get high end prospects.

You can still trade Arenado at the trade deadline if he has a good first half in 2026, and he will know he's going to a playoff team. Some playoff team will have a hole at 3B they want to fill due to injury or poor performance.

Trade now - value can only go down
1 Gray (mutual option was not likely to happen)
2 Donovan
3 Contreras (option was likely to happen unless he tails off)
3 Burleson

Trade at the trade deadline
1 Romero
1 Dustin May (mutual option not likely to happen)
2 Arenado
2 Nootbar

C Pages
DH Herrera
1B Gorman - one last try
2B Wetherholt
SS Winn
3B Arenado for 1st half
LF Nootbar for 1st half
CF Scott
RF Walker - one last try

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