The St. Louis Cardinals have already traded Sonny Gray away, and they almost certainly aren't done.
Nolan Arenado's name has come up the most, but Willson Contreras has also been rumored as a veteran who could be moved.
But as far as Contreras is concerned: Not so fast.
The Cardinals will have a very hard time dealing Conteras.
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It starts with his no-trade clause. It's not clear that he'd want to waive it.
He also is somewhat valuable still, and just 33, not super old for a first baseman.
And if the Cardinals are spending too much energy trying to move him, it could take away from the more logical moves for them to be pursuing.
This is how ESPN's Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel explained it in a new article on Tuesday:
"Contreras always hits, and even with $41.5 million owed over the next two years (with a club option for a third), teams could use his on-base skills. He has expressed his desire to stay in St. Louis, though, and with a full no-trade clause through the end of 2026, threading the needle on the right deal could be a time suck for a team that needs to spread its bandwidth wisely."
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Because of those factors, the ESPN insider duo gives just a 15% chance of Contreras being traded away by the Cardinals this offseason.
At this point, it's safe to expect Contreras back in St. Louis in the spring. The team might look a decent amount different around him, though.
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