The St. Louis Cardinals are entering a restructuring period. The front office and ownership group won't call it a rebuild because they still intend on being competitive at the fringes, but this is, for all intents and purposes, a rebuild.
Trading away Sonny Gray was the first domino of many to fall this winter. Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, JoJo Romero, Nolan Gorman, and even Willson Contreras could all find themselves wearing new uniforms come 2026. One additional player who has been discussed as a potential trade candidate this winter is Lars Nootbaar.
Nootbaar, 28, still has two years of team control left and will be a free agent after the 2027 season.