Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado TRADE Looms — Best Fits, Top Destinations REVEALED!

Episode Date: November 24, 2025

St. Louis Cardinals prepare for a seismic shift as Nolan Arenado’s days at Busch Stadium appear numbered. Which playoff contenders are best positioned to land the future Hall of Famer, and what could his departure mean for a retooling Cardinals infield? Is a blockbuster move to the Angels, Phillies, Red Sox, or Diamondbacks imminent—and would a reunion with Paul Goldschmidt in Arizona spark an NL West resurgence?https://www.mlb.com/news/counting-down-trade-fits-for-nolan-arenado00:00 "Cardinals Updates & Nolan Arenado"05:17 "Bregman's Impact on Free Agency"06:12 "Third Base Market Options Analyzed"12:13 Pirates' Offensive Upgrade Dilemma14:11 Arenado's Future: Phillies or Elsewhere?17:13 Tigers' Moves: Third Base Debate20:10 "Bregman’s Future: Boston or Arizona?"24:07 "Arenado’s Potential Angels Fit"29:13 Cardinals Bullpen: Seeking Lefty Upgrade31:47 "Ryan Helsley: Starter or Reliever?"Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-st-louis-cardinals/Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/mlb/Follow on Twitter/X: @JDSPORTSRADIOFollow the show on Twitter/X: @LO_CardinalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA and NFL seasons are here, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)#ForTheLou #stlcards #mlb #lockedoncardinals #stlouiscardinals Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nolan Arnato's time in St. Louis has likely come to an end. So today we'll break down which teams are the best fit for the future. All of favor. You are locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardals fans. I'm J.D. Hafer and a former national radio sports anchor, born and raised in St. Louis, a Lifetime Cardinals fan. And welcome to Locked on Cardinals, part of the Locktown Podcast Network. Now the number one, sports podcast. network. A big thank you to all of you for making that happen. You can follow us on the socials at Locked on Cardinals at JD Sports Radio. Big thank you to our everydayers for continuing to be here with us. For those of you who are new, welcome in. Enjoy the content because this is a show for you serving Cardinal Nation and giving you all the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode

brought to you by Game Time Download the Game Time Map, create an account. Use code locks on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. On today's show, the Cardinals non-tendered four different players to make them free agents, but one of them, at least one of them, could return to the organization. There's been reporting that that could happen on a minor league deal, so we'll discuss that. But let's start with one of the guys that is still around, third baseman Nolan Aronado. He is still here. We know the deals are going to be made. And Heinblum has recently said that there's been a lot of interest in the guys who are

rumored to be on the trade block, who are currently with the Cardinals, Aronado, Sonny Gray, Wilson Contreras. Brandon Donovan, Lars Newbar, Jojo Romero, just some of the guys that could be moved. Will all of them get dealt? Probably not. That's not likely. Heim Blum's going to have to weigh his options and what kind of return certain guys are getting. And, you know, who's a hot commodity, who's not?

And choose the best ones for what he wants to get done and move forward. But of that list of guys that I named there, one name is probably, I'm going to go ahead and say 99.9.9. percent certain to get moved. And that is Nolan Aronado. This is not a shocker that Aronado's time in. St. Louis is probably over. Tried to trade him last year. Deal was done with Houston.

He vetoed another year in. Nothing has really changed as far as the Cardinal side of things. They want to move them because they want to move the salary. They want to move him because they want to open up opportunities for younger players like Nolan Gorman and J.J. Weatherholt. On the side of things for Nolan Aronado, what's changed is the stock as a player for Aronado. That has gotten worse, you know, his offensive numbers. They dipped again in 2025.

He had injuries this year that saw him play a career low 107 games, which is not something you want to see out of a guy who's getting older. But not playing as much led to lower offensive numbers overall. So, you know, keep that in mind. And he is now another year older, okay? The positives for Arnado and the Cardinals is that his contract is when you're shorter. It's gotten cheaper, not as expensive as it was last season. His desire to move on is stronger because he wants to play elsewhere.

That has likely increased knowing that the direction the Cardinals are going into. It's just not a fit anymore. Personally, I still think this man has something to offer a team with playoff aspirations. I really do. I really do. I am a Nolan Arnado fan. I have been for a long time. I hate seeing his play deteriorate the way it has.

I hate him being in St. Louis when the Cardinals aren't winning. That's a bummer too. But I think a team with playoff aspirations who are looking for a strong defensive third baseman and a veteran presence who still possesses the fire to compete each day at a top level, I think he can help somebody. The personality, the defense are the selling points. The offensive trajectory in his age is the. downside and the contract. But again, I don't think where you're paying him as much as,

you know, it's what, 31 million the Cardinals are still on the hook for. I don't think that's going to deter teams from trying to get him if that's who they want. We talk about Nato F, he's some old man that he's pushing 40, but he's not. He's still on the right side of 35 for now. He's going to be 35 in April. But the bad has regressed tremendously in the last three seasons. The power has fallen off a cliff going from 34 home runs in 2021 to 30 to 26. 16 and then 12 last season.

Again, only played in 107 games, but it's not good. The slugging drop from 533 and 2022 to 4.59, 394, 377 last season. The OBP was a career low 289 last season. The OPS, a devilishly career low 66. The hard hit rate has declined. He was in the 12th percentile in each the last two years, where he was in the 75th percentile a decade ago. And as much as we'd love to see the Cardinals make some moves already,

they have to deal Larnato first to figure out what the rest of their infield can look like in 2026. Like he's a big chip that you got to get out of the way so that you can make other moves and make other decisions, in my opinion. They got to get rid of them. So which teams are a good fit for him at this point in his career? Mike Petriello at MLB.com. They wrote a piece on Sunday.

they kind of shed some light on this subject. And the first thing he brings up is you got to think about what the free agent market has as far as their base already. And it's very deja, deja vu-like because once again, there he is, freaking Alex Bregman, holding things up. He did it last year, held things up so long that before deciding to go to Boston, that, you know, that was one of the spots that we thought Arnato seemed open to going to last year. that shuts the door on that. It was so late where most of the teams had already moved on and gotten the guys they wanted.

So there he is again. Bragman opted out. So he's out there again. A E. E. E. E. E. Haneo Suarez coming off that 49 Dinger season, obviously is a fit for somebody looking for a more offensive, inclined third baseman than defense. But Mike also brings up two Japanese players coming over. Mutataka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto,

who he says could be part-time option. at third base as well. So you got to think about them. Their availability will probably hold things up. Like all four of those guys will probably hold things up again. Because teams are looking for a third baseman. We'll want to know where they stand with those free agents first before they start making trades and dealing away from their stack of prospects and players.

Now, if Heim's asking price is reasonable and the cardals are willing to eat enough of his remaining salary, then perhaps Nato gets moved quicker. but if I'm on the other side of things, and I'm a team looking to upgrade over at third base, I'd almost certainly be putting bids on these other guys first before moving to the trade block for somebody to fill that role. Now, Mike eliminates the teams that aren't contenders or already have guys at third base,

which left 16 teams. He then listed the Cubs, the Royals, the Dodgers, the Marlins, the Mets, the Yankees, Mariners, Rangers, and Blue Jays as long. Not that they can't happen, but they're long shots. So for our purposes here today, we're going to just move on from those guys, which brought us down to seven teams remaining. So let's go through those in the order that Mike has them in his article at MLB.com. And number seven, he listed the athletics.

He points out that they were at above 500 team of the second half last year, potent lineup, young lineup, a lot of fun to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed when I had to stay up late and watch the West Coast games for MLB game night. The A's were one of the teams that I loved watching. I enjoyed watching these young guys just mash. It was fun. But they need another option at third base.

They were not good. Only got 10 home runs from the position. Didn't get very good defense from that position. So the A's who are looking to become better and do some damage in the AOS, look and to upgrade that third base spot. My take on this is I just can't imagine Nolan Aranato wanting to play in Sacramento at a minor league park for the next two years. I don't see it.

Now, if that team was still in Oakland or had already made the switch to Vegas, I think he'd find it way more appealing. The A's always seemed to have good prospects. They got a solid relationship with the Cardinals over the years with deals from McGuire and Mark Mulder and Matt Holliday. but Nato's got that no trade clause, and I just cannot see him agreeing to play in a minor league baseball part

for his home team. Unless all other options have been exhausted, because I think the West Coast thing is something that he'd be intrigued by, being an L.A. guy. But I find that one hard to believe. I don't think the Cardinals have any problems dealing with any of these teams

that we're going to talk about. I just don't think Nolan Aranaanaata would want to be there. That's just my opinion. He's never said that. It just doesn't feel like something that he would do, in my opinion. So we got six more teams to go through. We'll get to them next. Coming up, all locked on cartons.

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So simple, head to fandle.com, sign up, play your game with Fanduel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Thanks for making Locked on Cardinals your first listen every day. And thank you for making locked on the number one sports podcast network. If you enjoy daily Cardinals content, you can follow the podcast on X at L1 underscore Carlin. Cardinals. We're also on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram at Locked on Cardinals as well. Number six, on Petriello's list here, he's got the Pittsburgh Pirates who traded away their third baseman Key Brian Hayes. Remember when he was like the future of third baseman for Pittsburgh? Like he was going to be the guy still has an outstanding glove, arguably the best third

basement in baseball defense-wise, but the bat had never come around. So they swap them to the Reds at the deadline and his contract, mind you. Mike points out that, you know, why the Pirates would be an appealing spot for Aronado. And it's because they have a very good up-and-coming pitching staff. Paul Skeen's obviously is God's here. He's amazing. They also have Mitch Keller for now. There's rumors that he'll get dealt. Top pitching prospect, Bubba Chandler looks legit. Jared Jones should be coming back from injury. He was very good, but missed last year because of that injury. but they desperately need offense, right? You know, they thought Brian Reynolds was going to carry them.

That has not worked. Signing people like Tommy Fam and Andrew McCutcheon back, McCutcheon, great to see them in Pittsburgh, but obviously that wasn't going to be the big enough upgrade that they were going to need. So they need some offense. Is Nolan Arnado the guy that is going to supply that offense for that lineup? He's just not the guy at this point in his career.

And it's great in all that they've talked about spending money. I also saw in the athletic this morning that Ken Rosenthal mentioned them being interested in Cardinals' left-handed hitters like Donnie, Gorman, and Newt. But still the pirates, man. They're the pirates. And Nolan Arnato is not going to want to go to Pittsburgh while they try to finally spend money with no track record of doing it well and being good at it. I'm sorry. That's not. they might need a third baseman, but Nolan Aronado is not going to go to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He's not. I'm sorry, Doug. It's going to be a no for me. Number five, the Philadelphia Phillies. Now, lots of changes are kind of, the Phillies are going through some things right now, right? Who, despite being loaded with talent, have yet to cross the finish line at the end of the season as the champion. They look like they're going to be the best team, you know, with them and the Dodgers. Dodgers are always going to be called the best team.

but, you know, somebody who could really push the Dodgers, and it just hasn't happened. They haven't been able to beat them. They got quite a few free agents that they need to re-sign if they want to. Headlined by Cal Schwerber, obviously that's a big one. Ranger Suarez, the left-handed pitcher is a huge one. Harrison Bader, J.T. Rio Muto, their catcher for so long. But Schwaber is, like, the crown jewel.

Like Suarez, he was very, very, very. good last year. Don't get me wrong, but Schwabers, Kyle Schwerber. Schwerbombs are a thing. Do they have a nickname for Rangers Suarez starts? I don't think so. So I continue to believe that Schwerber is going to end up back in Philadelphia. He just fits so well there, so well. Their style, their clubhouse. But don't let Reds fans hear you say that because they think he's going to go to Cincinnati because he's from the area. He's going to go where the money is. He's going to go where the money is and a place he feels comfortable. And I don't see why Philly would ever let him leave. I just, I can't imagine it. I don't see how they don't match whatever it is he gets from any other team. The Phillies have

Alec Bohm at third base right now, who Mike points out was better than Arnado offensively, but says that the Phillies shaking things up this offseason could mean that Boehm is on the trade block since he's in the final year of his deal before hitting free agency. We brought up the Phillies last year when talking about best fits for Nolan Aronado. I still think it's a great fit. The vibes were that they would want somebody over Alec Bohm. Like that's what we felt it last year. It felt like it this past year as well that they would prefer to get somebody else in there. That it's just not meshing with him. Why would he want to go to Philly? Winning culture. Winning culture. They're in a win now window. He'd be going to go.

into a hitter-friendlyer ballpark. The ball flies and film. He'll be around other veteran leaders like Bryce Harper and Trey Turner. He wouldn't have to be in the spotlight and be the guy that he has been, had to be in St. Louis around a younger, you know, roster where he, everybody looking at him. Not everybody going to look at him when he's in Philly. They got guys to look at. So I just think he'd be great. I believe it's a great fit. I believed it was last year. I think it still is.

We know they can afford him. I think the Philly atmosphere would reinvigorate him, and you'd see a much better version of Nolan Aronado in 2026 than what you've seen the last couple seasons in St. Louis. But got to move on from Alec Bompir, so he's in the way. At number four, he's got the Detroit Tigers, who admittedly, I was wrong about the last couple years. Hands up.

I was wrong. anybody else wrong about the Detroit Tigers? They surprised people in 2024. I didn't see that coming. I was making fun. Jack Flaherty on this very show saying, oh, man, see what happens? You get all cocky and you end up in Detroit. And then he goes to Detroit and is awesome and wins.

And then goes to the Dodgers and wins the title. So I ate a lot of crow there and I apologize to you, Jack Flaherty. But, yeah, in Detroit, I just didn't see this coming. And after 2024, I'm like, well, let's see if they can do it again. And they did. in 2025, they were the best team in the league for much of the year. They kind of petered out down the stretch there, but they'd become winners, which is why I didn't think Aranaada would want to be there in the first place, because Detroit didn't have a track

record of winning recently, but they do now. They do now. And I think Aranaana would love that. They also brought back Glaber Torres, which Mike points out is now going to change things a little bit because it leaves them a lot of options at third base. Plus, they might want to get back in on the Alex Breggman sweepstakes because they were in it last year. I don't hate the fit for Aronado in Detroit at all, but if I switch roles and say,

you know, if I'm the tigers, I'm kind of trying younger, cheaper options and saving my money to resign that one guy. What's his name? Terk Scouble. I would rather sign him than trade for Nolan Aronado. I'm going to put my funds into something. Go ahead and give me the two-time Sy Young Award winner, back-to-back AL-Sai Young Award winner, Terrick School.

That's where I'm putting my money, and I'll figure out third base with some younger options. Number three, Mike has got the Boston Red Sox, and the first thing he brings up is, freaking Alex Bregman. There is again, who was their third baseman last year, but opted out of his deal this offseason because he wants more. If he leaves Boston,

that would leave Boston with Marcel O'Mare, who top-notch prospect, no doubt, but Mike brings up there's been some issues with them because he's missed the last two months of the season after right wrist surgery, making his third consecutive season, that ended due to injury. After a back injury knocked him out in 24,

had a shoulder in 23, injury concerns when it keeps happening to some guy. Sometimes you're like, dude, I don't know, man. I don't know if we trust this dude. He also points out that he's a natural shortstop, who might also end up at second base, so he's not locked in the third base. Now I continue to believe, as I believe with Philly,

then Nolan Aronado, even at this point in his career, would be a good fit in Boston, and I think he would thrive at Fenway Park. I just do. And I think it would also be the Boston atmosphere that would help him. Like the atmosphere in St. Louis has sucked the last two years. you guys know this. This is not me ripping you for not showing up at the games, but it sucks. It sucks at a Bush Stadium game right now. It's not a lot of fun to be at.

Boston is always packed. It is always packed. It screams. Perfect fit for me. He loved the town, the fans, the ballpark, the rivalries with the Yankees, nationally televised games all the time. If I'm Nolan Aronado and I had a choice of all these teams that we're listing, here in like the top five. This is where I would want to go. Baseball wise. I thought it was a great fit last year. I think it is again this year.

But Bregman's got to get out. If Bregman is still there, there's no need for Nolan Aronado. So that's two places. That still have their baseman kind of there. Alec Ballum is still there in Philly. Bregman, obviously Boston's going to talk to him about bringing him back. So we'll have to wait on that.

At number two, he has got the Arizona Diamondbacks. And this one is very interesting. They did not make the playoffs last year, but they got close. Remember, they went on that surge. They were almost there. A lot of fun, young talent still there, but nothing really intriguing at third base. When you look at it, Mike brings up that after they traded A. E. E. E. E. E. Haneo Svarez to the Mariners, Blaze Alexander, and one of their top prospects,

Jordan Lawler ended up filling the role at third base, but doesn't think either of them is really a good fit at third base. And then Lawler is actually, who was playing shortstop, is actually getting, who's a shortstop coming up, outfield reps now. So they might move him out there, which makes me wonder, Lorda Scurriel Jr.? Is he available?

Is that somebody the Cardinal should think about in a return? I, just throwing it out there. But it certainly makes sense for Arizona that you bring in a veteran like Nolan Aronado. I think Nato would respect the winning that they've done over the years, puts him back in the NL West, very comfortable there.

back like his day in his Colorado days. And, and let me throw this one in there, his buddy Paul Goldschmidt, free agent again. I brought up that Paul Goldschmidt would be a nice fit in Arizona again. Why not bring them home? Could we see a reunion with Goldie and Aronado in the desert? Is that a possibility? Would that be fun? Would those two guys coming in help some of these young dudes?

You get two vets at the corners with guys like, you know, your offense is already led by guys like Corby. Carol, Catel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo. You already got those guys in place. The meat of your offense is already there. Those are two veteran pieces that you could bring in. Would that make sense? I think it seems like a good fit, to be honest with you. Something I would certainly look into if I was Arizona.

So that's a possibility as well. We're going to reveal his number one team and give you a trade scenario that was brought to me. We'll do that next on Locked on Cardinals. The NFL season is back, and honestly, there's nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans. Cheering on your team, but let's be honest, getting tickets, that can be a hassle. You got to deal with a lot of goofy stuff, the login screens, the cues. How about prices jumping up at checkout when you don't expect it? Very, very frustrating.

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Download the GameTime app. Create an account. Use code Locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, that's promo code L-O-C-E-O-N-M-L-B for $20 off. Swipe-T-T-T-T-T-C-T-E-T-T-E-T-T-C-T-E. Thanks for making Lockton Cardinals your first list. Every day for your second list and check out

locked on MLB hosted by my guy Sully. brings you a daily blend of humor and baseball throughout the offseason. You can lock, if I locked on MLB, it's available on YouTube or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast, give it a world. Last team that Mike brings up here, he's got the Angels. And here's what Mike says about the fit with the Angels for Nolan Aronado. This might be it. This might be the spot.

The Angels, 72 and 90 last year. And having missed the playoffs for the past 11 seasons, not be an obvious landing spot for a player hoping to find a contender, but they continue to operate as though they are. And the addition of Grayson Rodriguez surely opened some eyes across the sport. With Anthony Rendon completely out of the mix, the Angels had baseball's weakest third base situation in 2025, a last place ranking.

They're projected a repeat in 26. Although Aronado grew up in Southern California as a Dodgers fan, he attended high school in Lake Forest, which is far closer to Angel Stadium than it is Dodger Stadium. If he wants to get back home, he'll never have a better chance than this. Now, I've discussed a deal with John from Locked on Angels before. We first brought up the idea near the end of the season last year.

We were like, who are some guys? How can we flip this? And the idea at first was Taylor Ward, coming back to St. Louis in exchange for Nolan Aronado, to help with their need for a right-handed hitter with some pop, but he's now in Baltimore. So John switched it up and said, what about Jorge Soler? Now, hear me out, hear me out before he say no. I know he had a back issue last year, which wiped out half of last season and only played outfield in half those games.

They did play it. But in 2024, he had an OPS plus of 120. The previous year, he popped 36 home runs and had an OPS. of 123. The Cardinals outfield lacks thump from the right side. Unless Jordan Walker wakes up and does his own, speaking of other angels, does his Joe Odell impression and has a massive year like Joe Adele did last season and finally broke out for the angels.

They don't have anything from the right-hand side in that outfield. You've got Ivan Herrera, you got Wilson Contreras, those are your thumpers from the right side on the infield, but you ain't got bupkis in the outfield. Again, unless Jordan Walker comes to life finally. And nobody knows if that's ever going to happen. So layer is also a free agent after the season, so you're not tied up moving forward.

What do you think? I had to think about it a little bit. I was like, hold on, let me just, all right, let me wrap my brain around this for a second. It's still a no for me. It's still a no for me because I don't know or I don't trust what Jorge, I don't trust Jorge Soler's passion for baseball at this point in his career. It seems like the only time he really does anything good is when he's with the Atlanta Braves.

So Atlanta should just take him and move on from there. But it was fun to talk about at least. You know, he brought it up and I was like, but I'm going to say no. Maybe one of you thinks, yes, let me know down below. But those are the teams. Those are the teams. When you break it all down, you go through the league. I got Philly Boston and the Debex is my top fits.

But what do you think? Leave your comments and your thoughts in the section down below. The comment section is there. Hit me up on X if you want to as well. Where do you think he could go? You know, Philly and Boston both have problems because Philly's got a third baseman. They got to move on from him first. Would you exchange Bome for Aronado?

I have one year of Alec Bome? No, not really because the fact is, you want to open up a lane for Gorman or JJ. So you can't get a third baseman in return. So because people have brought that up to me. I'm like, no, that doesn't really work. Boston's got to figure out their Bregman stuff. That guy needs to go away.

He's screwing up all our plans. And then the debacks, that seems kind of nice. Seems kind of nice. So leave your thoughts down below. Quickly, the Cardinals, non-tender four players over the weekend. Joe Al Pozo, left-hand reliever, John King, injured minor league starter, Simaversa, reliever, Jorge Alcala, who may already designate for assignment.

So not a big loss there. But they're all free agents now, but there have been reports from people who cover the Cardinals that Pozo could return to the team on a minor league deal. That was something that Jeff Jones, when he was on the show not too long ago, last time he was on here, he said, yeah, Pozo's probably out, but they want to bring him back. They like him. They love his ability to pinch hit. He's still a catcher.

I don't know what that means. Like, great. You're just going to have them as a pinch hitter. I need something else. I need, I need more depth on my bench than just a third catcher that was able to knock in seven runs as a pinch hitter. Like, I need more than that. But they like him in the organization. So he could be somebody that plays down at Memphis.

And then if they need him, they bring him up. Because we still have a lot of questions about what Yvonne Herrera is as a catcher. King, very serviceable with the Cardinals. And I thank him for his service. but I want an upgrade in the bullpen from the left-handed side. And there are some solid ones available out there, some guys that, you know, the Cardinals could look to sign and then flip at the trade deadline

if things aren't going well. But I think the Cardinals offer, because they've had success with bullpen arms. So I think they offer a nice spot for guys, veterans, who are looking to jumpstart their career again. And it doesn't mean these guys had to not be good, but looking for a spot that they would be comfortable in and maybe even get some closing opportunities, who knows.

But that's the route I would go with the bullpen. I'm not, I'm cool with John King being out of there. You got Romero. It's very thin left-hand-wise, though. It's Romero and Nick Rakeh on the 40-man roster. So that's it as far as relievers go. Robberser was part of that trade by John Moseilok, who acquired. him and Adam Kloffinstein for the Blue Jays for Jordan Hicks.

Both were decent prospects at the time. Remember when they got them and Robertsa went like inside the Cardinals top 10 prospects right away. Clophonstein was also in the top 30 on MLB pipeline. Neither of them have panned out. So in hindsight, that trade absolutely sucked. That was a terrible trade big time. They got nothing for Jordan Hicks.

So that's sad. And then Alcala, as I mentioned, was already out. So whatever. John Denton points out the Cardinals now have seven players who are eligible contract arbitration. Jojo, Donovan, Newpar, Plante, Libby, Gorman, Erlson, Nolan Arnato, Sunny Gray, and Wilson Katreras had fully guaranteed veteran contracts. Well, 27 other players on the 40-man were tendered pre-arbitration-level contracts.

So by my count, that leaves 37 names on the 40-man roster, which is where they were like last week before they added the Rule 5 eligible guys to protect. in Cooper Jerpy, Bryson Mott, Joshua Baez, and Leonardo Bernal. So that's where we're at roster-wise. Also, this quick nugget, teams might try Ryan Halsley as a starter. I know that there's been some talk of people who thought that was a good idea here in St. Louis. I don't want any part of that. I still think the Cardinals are going to talk to him, but it adds another layer of intrigue to him in free agency, for sure.

If certain teams are like, hey, let's move you to the starter role. How are you a starter with two pitches? He only throws two pitches. A fastball on a slider. How do you do it? Is he going to start throwing his 12-6 curve again? Is he picking something else up again? I don't know how that makes sense.

But personally, I'm ready for new blood. I don't need Ryan Hilsley back. If they were going to bring him back, I want him in the bullpen. I'm not putting him as a starter and remaking his career at age 31 or whatever he is now. So I'm not in on that, but, you know, other people are. Thanks for making a lot.

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