Cardinals prepping to begin season with Arenado on roster

JUPITER, Fla. -- With their attempts to trade Nolan Arenado rebuffed in mid-December and severely damaged again on Wednesday with the Red Sox¡¯s signing of Alex Bregman, the Cardinals and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak began preparing for the growing likelihood that the 10-time Gold Glover will remain on their roster when the 2025 season opens in late March.

Arenado, who used the no-trade clause in his contract to block a potential deal to the Astros in mid-December, saw his chances of playing elsewhere dinged on Wednesday when the Red Sox landed star third baseman Bregman in free agency. The Red Sox were one of the five teams that Arenado had agreed to be traded to if a deal could be brokered, and Mozeliak said on Thursday that list would most likely need to expand if a trade is ever going to materialize.

¡°I think it would have to open up a little bit more, yes. We¡¯ve exhausted the others,¡± Mozeliak said, referring to preliminary trade talks with the Dodgers and Yankees.

For now, Mozeliak is preparing for Arenado to arrive at Spring Training this weekend and possibly be on the Cardinals roster come Opening Day on March 27. Position players are scheduled to be in camp by Sunday with Monday being the first full team workout.

¡°I¡¯d definitely feel like it¡¯s a better chance than not,¡± Mozeliak said when asked about the odds of Arenado still being a Cardinal on Opening Day. ¡°After that (Bregman deal) came out last night, nothing has changed from my end except that (Boston is) just not a team a team he can go to.

¡°Right now, the mindset has to be that Nolan Arenado is our third baseman until that changes.¡±

Bringing back the 33-year-old Arenado -- who is still owed $64 million over the next three seasons -- runs counter to the Cardinals plans of training their focus on creating more playing time for their young core in the season ahead. The club was hoping to turn third base responsibilities over to lefty slugger Nolan Gorman and Minor League standout Thomas Saggese in the 2025 season, but those plans will now be put on hold, Mozeliak said. Arenado¡¯s presence could also impact an outfield where Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker and Michael Siani were slotted in as starters, but that group will now be accompanied by defensive ace Brendan Donovan. Mozeliak said Arenado remaining on the roster will also likely impact any further supplementing of the roster before the season opens.

¡°I don¡¯t see ourselves being aggressive at this point,¡± he added.

Mozeliak admitted that the Cardinals are a better team with the slick-fielding Arenado manning third base for them. Arenado¡¯s power numbers dropped off dramatically each of the past two seasons with him hitting 26 and 16 home runs -- the first times he¡¯s hit fewer than 30 home runs over a full season since 2014. Arenado¡¯s burning desire to post a big bounce-back season could work out in favor of the Cardinals, Mozeliak said.

¡°Look, he¡¯s a star player. As we think about (resetting the roster), he does make us a better team if he¡¯s Nolan ¡­ and if he¡¯s happy,¡± Mozeliak said. ¡°I like that he does seem to be motivated to want to be good. I can candidly say of all the trade conversations I¡¯ve been in, (an Arenado bounce-back year) is what scares me the most. I think great players have that extra gear and when they find it, they¡¯re special.¡±

Mozeliak said he wouldn¡¯t venture to guess whether the Cardinals could patch up their differences with Arenado and the third baseman might have a change of heart toward remaining in St. Louis long term. Arenado, who has not won a playoff game in his four seasons with the Cardinals, has stated his desire to play for a championship-contending team and he was upset with the club¡¯s decision to try and rebuild in 2025, Mozeliak said.

¡°I don¡¯t draw any conclusions,¡± he said of a possible truce. ¡°If the club¡¯s doing really well, maybe he finds happiness here again, but maybe he doesn¡¯t. So, I don¡¯t think either of us can speak to that until we know.

¡°I think he was frustrated with the direction we were going. When you start to go down the path in looking to be traded, there has to be some reason for it. So, that¡¯s why we were exploring it. He also recognizes where he¡¯s at in his career. His goal is to win a World Series, and he wants to be a part of a championship. It¡¯s not that we¡¯re not trying to win, but candidly we didn¡¯t go out and add. So, it does have a different feel than what we¡¯ve done in the past.¡±