Bloom: Arenado, Gray present different cases in potential trade market

ST. LOUIS -- Aging stars Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray independently decided months ago that they would prefer to play for a contending team in 2026, while the Cardinals figure to be building around their young core again in the season ahead.

But that doesn’t mean new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom looks at potential trades involving Arenado (34 years old) and Gray (36) in the same light. Far from it, even though both possess a no-trade clause in their contract.

“I would say they’re different,” said Bloom, who attended his first MLB event as the Cardinals' front-office leader during the GM Meetings in Las Vegas this week. “With Nolan, it is clear to everybody that it would be best to find a different fit.

“Sonny’s a bit of a different situation where he signed here for a reason, and I think he’s been happy. He’s also in a situation where he’s more open than he would have been in the past to thinking about different possibilities with where he’s at in his career and understanding our focus is more long term.”

Arenado, whose arrival in 2021 was seen as the pivotal move that would propel the Cardinals to a 12th World Series crown, is clearly in his final days of wearing the birds on a bat across his chest. And for the sake of the Cardinals and the 10-time Gold Glover, it’s time to end the marriage.

Clearly feeling the effects of all those diving stops and fearlessly crashing into walls and tarps to make plays for years, Arenado struggled at the plate again in 2025, missed six weeks with injuries and earned a warm ovation before what was likely his final game at Busch Stadium as a member of the Cards.

“That’s one [where] we’ve been pretty open about this, and we are on the same page with Nolan,” Bloom told MLB.com and other reporters at the GM summit in Las Vegas on Tuesday. “I believe he’s going to the Hall of Fame. One of the better players in the history of the game. We all feel like it’s best to find a different fit. So, obviously, we’ll work on that with him. If and when that will happen, I don’t know. But it’s something that he’s been a total pro about.”

Bloom’s predecessor, John Mozeliak, had a deal worked out with the Astros last December, but Arenado used his no-trade hammer to squash the deal. Bloom, who has spent weeks talking to teams about the framework of a potential deal, will now take his turn at trading the former star.

The feelings are somewhat different with Gray, who was 14-8 with a 4.28 ERA this past season while still flashing a low walk rate (5%, 93rd percentile) and a high strikeout rate (26.7%, 79th percentile), per Baseball Savant. While some argue about his status as a staff ace, Gray became just the fifth pitcher in the rich history of the Cardinals to record consecutive 200-strikeout seasons in 2024 (203) and '25 (201).

As usual, pitching is at a premium this offseason, and just about every team other than the Dodgers or Mariners is in hot pursuit of it. Gray, who finished second in American League Cy Young Award voting as recently as 2023, clearly has a lot left in the tank in terms of being a stopper and a big-game pitcher for teams in need of a proven veteran arm.

Here’s something that could make Gray’s demand soar even higher than most would expect from a pitcher heading into his 14th MLB season: Teams can land Gray with one year left on his contract instead of signing a top free agent -- think Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease or Ranger Suárez -- to a multi-year deal likely approaching $200 million. Yes, Gray is owed $35 million for 2026, and there’s a $5 million buyout for '27, but that would likely be more appealing to a team one veteran starter away from a World Series.

One caveat is that Gray would likely prefer to stay close to his offseason home in suburban Nashville, Tenn. -- one factor in his signing with the Cardinals in late 2023. That could put teams such as the Braves, Reds, Rangers and Astros in play. But considering the desire to pitch for a contender that Gray expressed in late September, he might be willing to expand his wish list.

Not surprisingly, Bloom has already found the interest in Gray to be high.

“We’ve definitely been listening on him,” Bloom said. “It’s not a surprise. I mean, he’s still one of the better pitchers in the league. We value him very highly. Just with where we are and thinking long term, we’ve talked to him, and I think we all feel like there might be something that makes sense, but we’ll continue to explore that.”