Wages drop, players on the trading block, free agent updates

The St. Louis Cardinals are making much-needed changes this offseason. While others might call it a rebuild, the Cardinals insist 2025 is more of a “reboot,” saying their goals to overhaul player development will position them again for long-term success.

Now, John Mozeliak's comments about the payroll decline coupled with the rumors that the Cardinals could make a move this offseason certainly don't fully reflect many fans' opinion that this will be more of a rebuild in St. Louis.

When Bill DeWit Jr. was asked if the Cardinals planned to trade high-paid veterans and implement a lower payroll in 2025, he avoided addressing the question, stating that those conversations have yet to take place, but Mozeliak jumped in and brought it up Hard Truth Expressed Yes, payroll will decline in 2025. He then deferred to Bill DeWitt III to explain why revenue was down.

The drop in payroll isn't a huge surprise considering where the organization is currently, but fan discontent will certainly grow if this drop in payroll is as significant as it seems, especially with reporters like Jeff Jones has pointed out that the actual dollars needed to modernize player development are likely to be far less than the amount they decide to cut payroll.

Cardinals news: The Cardinals' payroll will decrease in 2025, veterans could be traded and several free agents are unlikely to return

A key reason we should expect payroll to decline significantly in 2025 is the growing expectation that one, but likely more, of Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Wilson Contreras and Ryan Helsley will be traded this offseason. While the Cardinals may have to fork through some cash on some of these deals, that's about $82 million owed to the four in 2025 that may no longer be on their books.

The idea of ​​trading any or all of these guys makes a lot of sense given this “reboot” they’re seeking. Helsley will be a free agent after the 2025 season and should give them a nice return. Although Helsley has been an important part of this club for years, there's not much point in having an elite closer if you're not a winning team. Gray and Contreras were highly productive in 2025, but they are aging veterans who likely want to win. It may be difficult to switch Arenado's contract, but I doubt he wants to wait for a rebuild…sorry, “reset.”

The added expectation that the Cardinals will allow Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Kittredge to become free agents, and perhaps even decline options on veterans like Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, adds fuel to the salary fire. If those four are also released this offseason, that would be an additional $50 million they would be wiping off their books this offseason. Combined with potential trades, that could mean over $100 million off the books this offseason, with little to no outside payroll expected.

Now the club will get an arbitration raise due to players like JoJo Romero and John King, and then Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan and Andre Pallante will have to deal with arbitration for the first time. But even with those raises, the Cardinals are clearly looking to save money on their major league club in 2025 while also funneling some of those resources into overhauling player development.

While some of these things make sense in a vacuum, the complete lack of self-awareness here is baffling. The mix of retaining much of their leadership next year while simultaneously not investing any money into the major league club will anger many fans, and rightly so. Hopefully Chaim Bloom can work his player development magic this year, as getting fans to buy again becomes increasingly difficult as time goes on.