Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Cardinals First Big Moves Under Chaim Bloom Predicted

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to be the team to watch this upcoming offseason.

St. Louis has a new front office taking over with Chaim Bloom set to relieve John Mozeliak as the team's president of baseball operations. With Bloom taking over and the Cardinals having an unexpected few years, it's clear that changes are coming. The Cardinals sold ahead of the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline and that was just the beginning. St. Louis only dealt relievers heading to free agency. If the Cardinals are going to make any big changes, that would likely be during the offseason.

Bloom's job is to take this team and get it back on track. Clearly, the last few years haven't been up to the standards that the Cardinals have set. What changes could make sense? Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller predicted that the Cardinals could part ways with Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras.

Will Cardinals trade All-Star trio this offseason?

Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"Why St. Louis Would Trade Them," Miller said. "The Cardinals are turning over a new leaf with their transition from John Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom calling the shots and they want to clear the deck and start over fresh with eyes on the future instead of these expensive relics from the past. Or, at any rate, they said almost a year ago that's what they wanted to do, but all they've managed to accomplish thus far is unload some impending free agents ahead of the deadline.

The complicating factor here is that all three of these players are in possession of full no-trade clauses. However, you would think they'd want to play for a team that actually intends on winning a title within the next two years, and perhaps a little sit down with this trio would grease the wheels on St. Louis' quest to save over $100M...

"Why Others Would Want Them: Arenado is still a wizard at third base and still competent enough at the plate that you don't need to try to hide him at the bottom of the order like a Ke'Bryan Hayes or a Nick Allen. Contreras got out to a horrific first few weeks of this season, but he's batting .280 with an .863 OPS over his last 96 games played—while also playing some of the best first-base defense in the majors."

One thing that is important to note with this idea is that all three have no-trade clauses. If it was as simple as just trading them, the club likely would've done so already. There is no guarantee that the Cardinals will be able to get them to waive the clauses, but this is something to continue watching for at least as we get closer to the offseason.

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This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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