Cardinals would've loved to have traded trio of vets at trade deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals didn't make any unexpected moves at the 2025 MLB trade deadline. John Mozeliak, in his final deadline as the Cardinals' president of baseball operations, made three trades. There were three other deals he wanted to make, too.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Cardinals "would have loved to move starters Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas, and first baseman Willson Contreras, too, but all three told the Cardinals they would not waive their no-trade clauses."

St. Louis traded away Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton, and Steven Matz, three relievers set to be free agents after the season was over. None of those three had no-trade clauses, making their deals far easier to complete.

Despite the Cardinals' wish to trade first baseman Willson Contreras and starters Miles Mikolas and Sonny Gray, none wanted to waive their no-trade clause. They all stayed with the team, despite the front office wishing to deal them away.

Mikolas is a free agent at the end of the year, while Gray and Contreras have more years left on their deals. All three could've been dealt with teams in the market for starting pitching and first base help at the trade deadline.

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But, thanks to their no-trade clauses, the trio of Cardinals veterans shut down the trade talks and remained with the club. This isn't the first time that the Cardinals couldn't swing a deal thanks to a no-trade clause for one of their players recently.

The Cardinals and the Houston Astros agreed to a deal that would send Nolan Arenado to Houston. But, he invoked his no-trade clause and stayed in St. Louis. Now on the injured list, and unlikely to be dealt anytime soon, the package for Arenado is likely gone.

It's a frustrating outcome for St. Louis, which is looking to get younger and retool the roster. Contreras and Gray both likely would've fetched a strong return on the market, but due to their no-trade clauses, neither was dealt.

The Cardinals wanted to move all three, but their no-trade clauses shut down any chance of a deal. While it's their right to use the no-trade clause, it doesn't make losing out on the huge return sting any less.

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