ST. LOUIS -- Late in the 2024 season, which the Cardinals finished 83-79 but fell short of the playoffs for a second straight year, outfielder Lars Nootbaar approached Willson Contreras to find out where the veteran catcher stood on his future in St. Louis.

The answer that Nootbaar got from the former World Series champion and three-time All-Star was both eye-opening and encouraging.

¡°Throughout last season I was hearing the direction that [the team] wanted to go, and I said I wanted to be a part of this, because the first thing I [thought] when I signed here was that I wanted to leave the team better than what I found,¡± Contreras said on Monday on the final day of the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up festivities. ¡°The one thing I told Nootbaar at the end of last year was that I¡¯m not going nowhere. It would be easier to ask for a trade ... and [leave] everything behind. But I love challenges, I love the team and I love the guys.¡±

A consistent contender for much of the past three decades, the Cardinals made the bold decision following a middling 2024 to begin a franchise ¡°reset¡± that will shift the focus to culling payroll, creating playing opportunities for the young core and building for the future. The first steps in that shift involved letting Paul Goldschmidt leave for the Yankees in free agency and moving on from veteran pitchers Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Andrew Kittredge.

¡°The plan is to play with our young players and get them to develop a base where we can add to, and we have a high confidence that we¡¯ll be competitive,¡± chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said on Monday. ¡°I think actually we¡¯re in a pretty good position because we have a core of young players, and it¡¯s not like we¡¯re starting from scratch.¡±

Knowing that veterans eager to play for contenders could run counter to their plans, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak spoke individually to veterans Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Contreras -- players with long-term contracts and no-trade clauses they could wield to control their futures.

Although Arenado never formally requested a trade, he let the team know that he¡¯d prefer a deal to a contending club -- a transaction that has yet to come about and has stalled the club¡¯s hopes of supplementing the roster in free agency, Mozeliak admitted on Saturday.

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¡°[Arenado] likes it here, and he¡¯s not begging to leave,¡± DeWitt said, ¡°but I think it would be good for him to find one of those teams that has a top chance of winning a championship this year.¡±

Both Gray and Contreras have re-affirmed their commitment to a Cards club that will lean heavily on the play of Nootbaar, shortstop Masyn Winn, infielder Nolan Gorman, right fielder Jordan Walker, and pitchers Andre Pallante, Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy (No. 10 prospect) and Quinn Mathews (No. 3 prospect).

Gray, who went 13-9 with a 3.84 ERA and 203 strikeouts in 166 1/3 innings in his first year in St. Louis, believes the Cards have enough young talent to still compete for the NL Central title this season.

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¡°Winning is still the reason I play this game, but I¡¯m still not 100 percent sold that we can¡¯t win here,¡± said Gray, who is one year into a three-year, $75 million free-agent deal signed before the 2024 season. ¡°I know it may look different, sound different and not be as it¡¯s looked here in the past as far as signing a bunch of veteran free agents, but I¡¯ve been on teams that have won and done it a different way.

¡°Winning is still very important to me, and we¡¯ll see how it plays out. This is still where I want to be.¡±

As for Contreras, not only did he choose to stay with the Cardinals, he agreed to switch from catcher to first base in hopes of staving off injuries. The 32-year-old compiled an impressive .848 OPS with 15 homers last season, but he was limited to 84 games after fracturing his left forearm and right middle finger. He will now split time between designated hitter and first base; he¡¯s been working on the latter with Cards coaches this offseason.

¡°I think everybody loves the move, and my brother said I can¡¯t be [fiery and ultracompetitive] anymore because I have to say hi to everybody at first base,¡± Contreras said of Brewers catcher William. ¡°My brother also told me I don¡¯t need to prove anything to anybody because out of nine years in the big leagues, I was top five [among catchers] for seven years. So there¡¯s nothing I need to prove to people. I¡¯ve been catching for 12 years, but with moving to first base, I love challenges.¡±