Mar 18, 2026; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) looks for the ball against the Chicago Cubs in the second inning at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Cardinals On Top Early After Offseason Trades, Including Nolan Arenado

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Mar 30, 2026 7:59 AM ET

It has been a roller coaster of a week across Major League Baseball, to say the least.

After a long lay-off, meaningful baseball games finally returned last week with the vast majority of teams around the league beginning their seasons on Thursday, March 26. The New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants got the action started a bit early on Wednesday, March 25. Regardless, now teams around the league have a series under their belts already. For the St. Louis Cardinals, this was positive.

St. Louis went 2-1 in its first series of the season while facing off against the Tampa Bay Rays. There are plenty of teams around the league who weren't so fortunate with their first series of the year. For St. Louis, it looks much different than it did at this point last year. The youth movement is here and is led by JJ Wetherholt, who shined in his first series in the big leagues. The Cardinals transformed this organization throughout the offseason, including by trading Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray away.

Everything is looking up for the Cardinals right now. But what about the four veterans who were moved? Let's take a look at how their seasons have begun.

Nolan Arenado

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Team: Arizona Diamondbacks

Record: 0-3

Stats: .091/.091/.091 (1-for-11) with five strikeouts (3 Games)

Brendan Donovan

Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Team: Seattle Mariners

Record: 2-2

Stats: .429/.556/.929 (6-for-14) with two home runs, four RBIs, one stolen base, two walks, four strikeouts and four runs scored

Willson Contreras

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Team: Boston Red Sox

Record: 1-2

Stats: .111/.429/.111 (1-for-9) with one run scored, four walks and three strikeouts

Sonny Gray

Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Team: Boston Red Sox

Record: 1-2

Stats: One start, 6.75 ERA (three earned runs allowed), four innings pitched, five strikeouts and one walk

Takeaways

When it comes to these four veterans, much was said throughout the offseason. All of them are former All-Stars who played big roles for the Cardinals and now are all elsewhere. Through one week, Donovan looks like the biggest loss. He's thriving over in Seattle, but the Cardinals have done a good job replacing him with Wetherholt at second base and Nolan Gorman at third base. Arenado, Contreras and Gray haven't done much yet. Alec Burleson has looked like a man on a mission at first base replacing Contreras, Gorman has been good at third base and the rotation has been strong overall with Matthew Liberatore and Michael McGreevy. It's a long season, but the moves look good for St. Louis so far.

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

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