It is officially 2026 and the two most necessary players for the St. Louis Cardinals to trade remain in the organization as Spring Training is five short weeks away. In my opinion, both Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan should be dealt before March in order to get this Chaim Bloom-led rebuild headed in the right direction. The inactivity surrounding both players to this point is not cause for concern just yet, but as we saw last year, holding onto pieces too long could have larger implications further down the roster.
Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado remaining on the Cardinals could create future roster issues
For hopefully the final time in my articles or podcasts, I again stress that because I think someone should be traded, does not mean that I dislike them or feel they are not a great player. In Donovan’s case, it is all about timing. For Arenado, it is about clearing space for opportunity. Recently, Jeff Passan noted that the Cardinals have not lowered their asking price on Donovan and are not expected to. Because of his remaining control and ability to play around the diamond, this is fair and defendable by Bloom. Donnie is only 28, has a Gold Glove award to his name, and has been one of the most consistent hitters since his debut. However, I personally feel that while the utilityman is an above-average major league player, his skillset best fits for a contender who needs a player to supplement a lineup full of other contributors, something the Cardinals obviously do not have right now. Before I continue on, I will say an extension for Donnie could help change my thoughts, but the thought process remains the same for the time being for me.
Last season, we were promised a “runway” (a word I planned to leave in 2025) for multiple players like Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar, Ivan Herrera, Michael McGreevy, and Thomas Saggese. What ended up actually happening is that those five hitters played an average of 109 games, with Noot leading the way with 135 games in his healthiest season yet. The others were hit by injuries, lack of production, or in the case of Gorman and Saggese, a lack of that clear opportunity. Quick sidebar on Gorman: I understand he has over 1,400 at bats in his major league career BUT, he has only received over 400 at-bats once, he is just 25 years-old, has 30 homer potential (yes I know potential is a scary word), and can play second and third base just fine, with the possibility of adding a first base glove to his bag. For an organization that constantly gets hammered for giving up on players too early, I think Gorman has the makeup to become a solid major league contributor given actual everyday chances as long as his back issues avoid popping up again. This is not a Gorman post, so I will move on.
Assuming Herrera is back to full health and Walker is locked into the everyday right field job, that leaves the infield pretty unsettled unless Donovan and Arenado remain in St. Louis. Of the two, Arenado has to be sent packing, regardless of the return. Nothing against Nado as I still believe it was a phenomenal trade that just did not totally pan out, but it is time for him to move along and actually allow the rebuild to happen, unlike last season when he was somehow surprised the Cardinals dealt Helsley and others at the trade deadline. The opening at third base would create a spot for Gorman, or more likely top prospect JJ Wetherholt, and allow Bloom and Co to get a true evaluation on at least one of those players. If and when Donnie is dealt, second base becomes a hole that St. Louis has the ability to fill from within the organization. In the scenario that both trades happen, Spring Training could become a fun competition between second and third base, with Gorman and Wetherholt being the clubhouse leaders for those spots.
The inaction around Donnie and Arenado forced me to give Bloom a “C” grade in my most recent podcast, because the team feels like they are in a similar spot to last year even without Willson Contreras over at first. The Contreras deal hurt my heart as I expressed on the last VEB podcast episode, and it did not do anything to actually clear up any roster questions. Alec Burleson was always going to get everyday at-bats, and now he will just do so at first base, while Nootbaar apparently is expected to be healthy enough to play in the outfield again. If not, left field just became the Cardinals’ biggest question and that is a discussion for another day. What I really want to get at, is that if Donnie and Arenado both stay, not only do Wetherholt and Gorman have more time wasted in the organization, but former Texas League MVP Thomas Saggese becomes another number on the roster.
Thomas Saggese’s role could be the one most impacted by the Cardinals’ lack of trades
After Thomas Saggese was acquired by the Cardinals at the 2023 Trade Deadline, the former fifth-round pick took off with the organization. Through 46 games between AA and AAA, the infielder hit .292 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs, putting his overall season total at .306 with 26 homers and 111 RBI, while adding on 12 stolen bases before being named the Texas League MVP. That performance brought plenty of excitement around Saggese, with the infielder using an aggressive approach at the plate while bouncing between second, short, and third on the dirt. In 2024, it looked like Saggese was on his way to receiving some consideration for the big league roster, assuming he performed well in Spring Training and at Triple-A to start the year.
The power continued to show for Saggese in 2024, popping 20 homers and driving in a pop culture-friendly 67 runs, and he received his first major league action in September once the Cardinals were out of the playoffs. He played in 18 games but did not do much with that small sample, hitting .204 and striking out 27% of the time in the season’s last few weeks. Going into 2025, though, I was most excited for Saggese to get his chance when John Mozeliak noted that the season was going to be the transition into a rebuild and that priorities 1, 2, and 3 were to send Arenado to a contender while opening up third base for a prospect. While some thought Wetherholt could get that shot, there was little to no chance that the top prospect would zoom straight from his debut season in Double-A to the majors without having a larger track record of success against professional arms. That led me to lean towards Gorman and Saggese getting that chance, with Saggese’s positional versatility allowing him to work his way into the lineup more, especially if Donovan kept bouncing around between the infield and outfield. This never happened, of course, as we got to experience yet another painful season from Arenado, who continued to block third base with his name value, contract, and stubbornness to accept a deal.
Injuries to Nado, Donovan, and Masyn Winn did open up some at-bats for Saggese, who ultimately appeared in a total of 82 major league games, grabbing 275 at-bats and totaling an 81 wRC+. That may not sound encouraging, but looking further into the breakdown, the most consistent opportunity he saw was once again in meaningless September games as he received 90 at-bats. It was disappointing to see Saggese also drop some power, totaling just seven homers in 439 at-bats between the majors and minors, but he did improve his plate discipline while handling three infield spots at the drop of a hat.
Now, we head into 2026 with even less opportunity for Saggese, with the infield being spoken for and players like Wetherholt and Gorman probably being higher priority for the organization. I thought that during one of Saggese’s last stints in the minors, I had heard he was doing some work in the outfield, but I apologize for being unable to find anything on Twitter that could back up my potential Mandela Effect memory. Even if that was not the case last season, I would not be surprised to see him taking reps in the grass during the spring to help his chances and finding semi-regular major league at-bats. Working either to his advantage or against him, Saggese is only 23-years-old and has two minor league option seasons remaining. If the Cardinals trade Donovan and determine that Wetherholt could handle a little more seasoning in the minors a la Kris Bryant, Saggese could find himself holding down an infield spot temporarily. If the top prospect is thought to be worthy of a promotion, then it could also be realistic to see Saggese grabbing five starts a week down in Memphis waiting for his next inconsistent opportunity.
