Cardinals $55 Million All-Star 'Difficult' To Trade Opening Door For Return

St. Louis may try to trade the All-Star this winter

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals will have some tough decisions to make this winter and it seems like there will be a handful of trades on the horizon.

St. Louis has made it known that it wants to cut payroll. The Cardinals also seem to be open for business when it comes to the trade market. While this is the case, players like Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray have no-trade clauses, which could make them tough to move.

Another player who will be "difficult" to trade is veteran starting pitcher Miles Mikolas, according to The Athletic's Katie Woo.

"Finally, Mikolas has one year remaining on his contract, and he’s set to make just over $17.5 million next year," Woo said. "He might be difficult to trade, however, given his 5.35 ERA in 2024. Still, he made at least 32 starts for the third consecutive season, and there is considerable value when it comes to durability."

If the Cardinals want to cut salary, trading Mikolas likely would be a preferred route to take. While that is the case, he had a 5.35 ERA in 2024 and a 4.78 ERA in 2023. His performance over the last two years will make him hard to move, which could open the door for him to return in 2025.

The Cardinals are going to try to go younger as they "reset" the organization in 2025, and Mikolas likely doesn't have a long-term place with the team. But, it'll be hard to move him, so he likely will be back for one more year.

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