2:24PM : In a follow-up me sage from Olney , he hears from rival executives that the Cardinals will probably have to cover some of Arenados salary or take back another unfavorable contract as a salary offset. As a hypothetical, Olney suggests that if the Dodgers wanted Arenado, Chris Taylor and the $17MM remaining on his contract could be offered back to St. Louis to help cover the financial difference. It isnt known whether or not the Cardinals would be open to eating money or taking an unwanted contract back, which could be a further obstacle towards a trade being completed. 2:04PM : from president of baseball operations John Mozeliak indicate that the Cardinals may not be entirely viewing 2025 as a rebuild year, though the team has already made some moves with an eye towards reducing payroll. Trading would certainly be just about the biggest move St. Louis could make in that effort to get younger and le s expensive, though beyond just the $74MM in owed salary, moving Arenado is difficult due to his no-trade clause. To that end, ESPNs Buster Olney ( ) writes that Arenado has a very limited list ofpreferred teams for potential trades. This in turn has left the Cardinals without a ton of leverage in finding an ideal trade fit that would help the Cards recoup something beyond just salary relief for the All-Star third baseman. in regards to Arenado this offseason indicated that he hasnt directly asked for John Wall Jersey a trade, but he would be willing to move to first base if such a defensive switch is a better fit for a new team. These two items represent the complicated nature of these trade talks, as Arenado is seemingly ready to be very flexible and accommodating of a trade, but only to a few clubs. It isnt known exactly how many teams Arenado is willing to waive his no-trade protection to join, or how many of those teams have their own interest in Arenado as a trade candidate. It is po sible that the Arenado situation might have informed Mozeliaks comments about the organization having every intention of fielding a good baseball team in 2025. has already let the Cards know he isnt waiving his no-trade protection, and so St. Louis still wanted more time for and at catcher, the pivot move was installing Contreras as . also has a no-trade clause that he reportedly isnt keen on waiving, complicating the Cardinals efforts to move on from the last two years of Grays contract. If trading Arenado is also going to be unfeasible due to a narrow market, the Cardinals mightve decided against entirely punting on the 2025 season. Pending free agent now a le s-likely trade candidate, further indicating that St. Louis might attempt to rebuild on the fly while still competing in the NL Central. Of course, Mozeliaks stance on Helsley could also be gamesmanship to drive up offers, and its still early enough in the offseason that the Cards might again change lanes depending on how the trade and free agent markets develop in the next few months. For instance, the third base market will be altered once and (in the event of ) sign their next contracts. The Phillies are also known to be shopping , giving third-base needy teams another option. None of this might really change things if Arenado simply isnt willing to expand his list beyond that very limited number, but a new team suddenly having a need at third base could perhaps convince Arenado otherwise. Cassius Winston Jersey