The St. Louis Cardinals have work to do this offseason. On the final day of the Winter Meetings, they still have yet to make any moves since the Sonny Gray trade.
Willson Contreras has been added to the list of players who may be traded, despite originally saying he wanted to stay in St. Louis for the rebuild. He has a no-trade clause, but Katie Woo of The Athletic recently reported that he is more open to a trade.
The Cardinals are hoping to trade Nolan Arenado this winter. However, given what took place last winter, it would seem that Contreras is more likely to move than Arenado.
Why Contreras Could Leave Before Arenado
Sep 15, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (40) celebrates after hitting a RBI single against the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images
Arenado is owed $42 million over the final two years of his contract with St. Louis and is coming off the worst offensive season of his career. He hit just .237 with 12 home runs and a .666 OPS during the regular season and also missed a lot of time due to injuries.
Much like last offseason, Arenado’s market depends on the market of other free agent third basemen, but instead of just Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suarez and Munetaka Murakami have joined the mix.
For that reason alone, an Arenado trade could be unlikely.
Contreras on the other hand is coming off a year in which he led the Cardinals with 20 home runs. He is owed $36.5 million over the next two years before he hits free agency.
If teams interested in Pete Alonso are priced out, Contreras is a much cheaper trade solution they can turn to to fill their holes at first base. The Cardinals could also get a lot more for Contreras than they would for Arenado, even if they eat more money to send the eight-time All-Star to a contender.
They would have to do the same with Contreras, but there’s more upside with him than there is with Arenado. Both players have the final say on where and if they’ll ultimately be traded, but Contreras had a much better 2025 season and could bring back better prospects.
It should be interesting to see whose market moves quicker, but it seems like Contreras would generate more interest at this point than Arenado, meaning the Cardinals would have better luck trading him.
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