Cardinals 'Could Also' Move Three Veteran Hurlers At This Summer's Trade Deadline

St. Louis might be headed for a significant fire sale

Jul 4, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas (39) looks on from the dugout against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals had an uneventful offseason despite announcing plans to reset last fall, but a potential fire sale could be on the way by this summer's trade deadline.

Following three-time All-Stars Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray invoking their full no-trade clauses shortly after the 2024 season ended, the Cardinals pivoted to finding a new landing spot for eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado to no avail.

With the Cardinals now in a transitional period, there's confusion about where the franchise is headed. Depending on how the first half of 2025 pans out for St. Louis, a potential trade deadline fire sale could be imminent.

"If the Cardinals were planning to offload all veterans, they would have dangled Gray and Contreras in addition to Arenado," CBS Sports' Matt Snyder wrote Thursday. "(Erick) Fedde, (Miles) Mikolas and even (Ryan) Helsley could also be moved."

Fedde, Mikolas and Helsley will become free agents after this upcoming season ends. Considering that the Cardinals are searching for ways to create more big-league opportunities for younger hurlers, such as Michael McGreevy and Chris Roycroft, a trade deadline fire sale could make sense.

Fedde has an economical price tag of $7.5 million and could reel in a respectable top prospect haul from a big-market club looking to boost their rotation before heading into the postseason.

Helsley is considered one of the league's top closing pitchers after earning 2024 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year. Although it would be heartbreaking for St. Louis to part ways with the fan favorite, he could be worth $100 million after this year. It's tough to imagine the Cardinals spending that much capital on such a volatile position.

As for Mikolas, St. Louis is almost certainly looking forward to his three-year, $55.8 million salary expiring after the 36-year-old's mediocre performance over the past couple of seasons. If the Cardinals can avoid paying the second half of his 2025 salary by trading him, they'll likely take whatever they can get for the two-time All-Star.

If the Cardinals are surprisingly competitive before the Jul. 31 trade deadline, it could complicate St. Louis' summer plans. Sadly, there's no telling what the front office will do in that scenario -- at least for now.

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