photo: John Mozeliak (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals’ hot stove remains cold as a Nolan Arenado trade seems their only offseason priority. Our history feature investigates prior trades and free agent signings made during this week.
Cardinals Annual Winter Warm-Up
The annual St. Louis Cardinals fan event called Winter Warm-Up began at Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village on Saturday and concludes on Monday. This unofficial kickoff to the season provides fans an opportunity to meet and get autographs from their favorite current and former players, hear from Cardinals ownership and front office personnel, and take part in other festivities.
On Saturday, POBO John Mozeliak held a meet and greet where he answered questions from assembled media. The focus this year was unsurprisingly on the stalled trade talks surrounding third baseman Nolan Arenado.
Current players answered questions in the media room including Sonny Gray, Brendan Donovan, Erick Fedde, Steven Matz, and Ryan Helsley. Cardinals prospects Tink Hence, Sem Robberse and Victor Scott II also appeared for questions.
On Sunday, other players appeared for Q&A. This group included Alec Burleson, Andre Pallante, Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn and others. Prospects appearing included Quinn Mathews, Michael McGreevy, and Matt Koperniak.
The event concludes on Monday with more players signing autographs and answering questions. The annual St. Louis BBWAA Dinner was also held on Sunday evening, with the following awards given out.
Congratulations to all award winners at the 2024 @StLouisBBWAA Writers' Dinner tonight! pic.twitter.com/tKjyGRmvUx
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) January 20, 2025
For more in depth coverage of the event, see Brian Walton’s reporting here and here at TCN.
News and Notes for the Offseason
In this space will be information on news and events of the offseason that do not require extensive coverage. Check back each week to learn what is happening.
- Cardinals 2025 Spring Training tickets on sale now – The Cardinals have opened up the sale for 2025 Spring Training tickets. Purchase tickets at https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/tickets/spring-training
- Cardinals’ Season Tickets are now available – Fans can now purchase season tickets for the upcoming 2025 season at https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/tickets/season-tickets. A telephone line and a chat feature are also available.
- Spring Breakout is back – The second annual Spring Breakout games begin in March. This prospect showcase features top prospects from each team. A team of Cardinals prospects will play Marlins prospects on March 14 at 12:10 p.m. ET at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. The Cardinals team may include Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence and JJ Wetherholt.
- Cardinals’ spring workout dates announced – The dates for spring training workouts to begin have been set. The first workout date for pitchers and catchers is February 12. Position players will begin their workouts on February 17.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
Nothing has changed since this time last week on the Nolan Arenado front. John Mozeliak spoke at the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up over the weekend and told the assembled crowd that trading Arenado is “priority one, two and three” for the organization’s offseason plans.
Yet less than a month away from the beginning of spring training, Arenado is still a Cardinal. There appears to be no plans to move anyone else, despite rumors that either or both pitchers Erick Fedde and Steven Matz might have been on the trade block. Mozeliak indicated that taking away from the team’s starting pitching depth is not something he wants to do.
Furthermore, it appears the team may not have to reduce payroll as much as originally thought. According to Katie Woo of the Athletic, chairman Bill DeWitt informed Mozeliak that the payroll situation is not as tight as originally anticipated and he is prepared to give Mozeliak a “little more flexibility”.
So should an Arenado deal not materialize, there is a substantial chance that the Cardinals will make no moves before pitchers and catchers report on February 10 and Arenado will report to Jupiter to get ready for the season.
Mozeliak also mentioned a desire to sign a reliever and a right-handed hitting outfielder, but it is unclear what contingencies are attached.
Transactions
- 1/16 The Cardinals invited the following 26 non-roster players to spring training: RHPs Max Rajcic, Ian Bedell, Michael Gomez, Edwin Nuñez and Andre Granillo; LHPs Quinn Mathews, Oddanier Mosqueda, Drew Rom, Cooper Hjerpe and Alex Cornwell; Catchers Jimmy Crooks, Leonardo Bernal, Chance Sisco, Bryan Torres, Sammy Hernandez, Carlos Linarez, Wade Stauss, and Gavin Collins, OFs Nathan Church, Ryan Vilade and Chase Davis; 2B César Prieto, Jose Barrero and Jeremy Rivas, 1B R.J. Yeager; and SS JJ Wetherholt.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
It is now about four weeks until pitchers and catchers report on February 10. The Cardinals have still not made any significant offseason moves.
The arbitration filing deadline has passed. The Cardinals came to an agreement with three of their six arbitration eligible players, Ryan Helsley, JoJo Romero and John King.
The three remaining eligible players, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan and Andre Pallante have exchanged salary figures with the team with hearings to be scheduled soon.
Other key dates in January include:
- January 21, 2025 – The 2025 Hall of Fame voting by the BBWAA that took place in December will be announced live on MLB Network at 5 pm CT. Two members of the class, Dick Allen and Dave Parker, were chosen by the Classic Era Baseball Committee and announced in December.
- January 27 and continuing through February 14 – Arbitration hearings for those players who failed to come to contract terms with their teams will be held.
Blast from the Past
The offseason continues into January with the Cardinals still waiting to offload Nolan Arenado and continue their plan to lower payroll. The market for the third baseman is quiet for the moment.
The Cardinals have indicated that at least one addition to, rather than a subtraction from, the roster is being considered. The team is reported to be seeking a relief arm to replace Andrew Kittredge, who departed as a free agent.
This week’s Blast continues its look at past Cardinal transactions, from the period January 13 through January 19.
The following transactions start with the date, the name or names of the players involved, the teams involved, and the nature of the transaction. Additional relevant details may be included.
January 14, 2005 – The Cardinals signed infielder Donovan Solano as an international free agent. Solano spent seven seasons in the Cardinals minor league system and became a minor league free agent in 2011. Since that time Solano has played in the major leagues with seven teams, beginning with the Miami Marlins. Solano played for the San Diego Padres in 2024 and recently signed a one-year major league contract with the Seattle Mariners. The 37-year-old is entering his 21st season in professional baseball.
January 14, 2011 – The Cardinals signed free agent RHP Miguel Batista to a minor league deal. Batista made the opening day roster. Batista, who was normally a reliever, made an unexpected start on April 22, 2011 in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. With rain in the forecast, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa made a last-minute switch, taking out scheduled starter Kyle McClellan and substituting Batista. The game began two hours after the scheduled start, causing Reds manager Dusty Baker to lose his planned starter. Baker was none too pleased with La Russa’s maneuver.
Batista was released on June 22, 2011.
January 19, 2018 – The Cardinals traded outfielder Randal Grichuk to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitchers Connor Greene and Dominic Leone. Greene never made it to the major leagues with the Cardinals, but Leone pitched out of the bullpen for the team for two seasons. Later, Grichuk moved on to the Rockies and the Diamondbacks and is currently a free agent.
January 19, 2024 – The Cardinals signed free agent infielder Matt Carpenter to a one-year contract. This was a return stint for Carpenter, who was drafted by and played for the Cardinals from 2011-2021. Carpenter spent the interim years with the Yankees and the Padres before returning to St. Louis in 2024.
Now Available for Pre-Ordering – 2025 Cardinals Prospect Guide
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its eighth year. It includes 256 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Pre-order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
Pre-Order The Cardinal Nation’s 2025 St. Louis Cardinals Prospect Guide
Exclusively for members of The Cardinal Nation
Insight on Cardinals’ 2025 Player Development and Performance Assignments
Not yet a member?
Join The Cardinal Nation for the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
Follow Marilyn Green on Bluesky @mrlyn59.bsky.social.
© 2025 The Cardinal Nation, thecardinalnation.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.