In a story first reported by MLB.com on Wednesday afternoon, Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado used his no-trade clause to block a potential trade with the Houston Astros. Arenado has every right to do so, and no one should hold that against him.

Still, I wonder. What will make Arenado happy? What would motivate him to sign off and put down his no-trade shield. How many teams are interested in him? The Cardinals are willing to pay quite a lot of money to defray the Arenado salary obligations for his new team (if indeed a trade happens), and that could stimulate more interest on the trade front.

This much is clear; the Cardinals to get him out of here. If they are determined to go through with their plan to go with Nolan Gorman at third base, that can't happen if Arenado is still standing there. If they move Gorman back to second base ... well, there's no room for rookie Thomas Saggese to receive extensive playing time there. In effect, if Arenado is still a Cardinal in 2025, he will do another type of blocking ... keeping Gorman away from third, and indirectly keeping Saggese away from second.

The Cardinals do have another option, which I happily explain in my latest "Bern-ado" video on YouTube.

Over the past two seasons, the Cardinals were short on star power.

And they were short of WAR power.

That's a bad combination.

The Cardinals lacked charisma, didn't provide much entertainment, and didn't generate enough Wins Above Replacement on an individual basis. In other words the Redbirds didn't have the necessary star-WAR power.

I explain all of this in today's video. But there is a direct connection between having enough players that generate a higher WAR value and how it impacts your chances of qualifying for the postseason. Yes, we're talking about Wins Above Replacement, and all but a few of the teams that made the playoffs over the last 10 full seasons were fueled by at least one high-value WAR star. In most cases it the playoff-bound teams were led by multiple WAR suppliers who reached 4 Wins Above Replacement that season.

The problem for the Cardinals? Over the last two years (2023-2024) they did not have one position or pitcher reach 4+ WAR. And that is extremely difficult to overcome. Which is why the missed the playoffs in both seasons. And which is why they'll head into 2025 without an established star. Maybe Ryan Helsley. Maybe Masyn Winn. And a lot of questions.

NL teams are spending more and more money. Eight of the top 10 largest contracts in the history of major-league baseball are held by players that currently work for National League teams. The top 10 team payroll list is loaded with National League teams, and stars continue to leave American League teams go head to the NL. Two recent examples (or many) are Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor.

Where do the St. Louis Cardinals fit into all of this? Well, chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. is absolutely right in his determination to revive the Cardinals' fallen minor-league and player-development systems. That's why he hired Bloom to handle this extremely important assignment. But down the road, when the young talent has arrived talent to give the Cardinals a good nucleus, DeWitt will have to top off the roster by investing in payroll to move the Cardinals back into the top 10 in spending -- or dang close to it.

And when the time comes, Bloom will have to prove that he's capable of making smart payroll-increasing moves that are riskier by nature.

That's the one thing that we don't know about Bloom as he prepares to take over the baseball ops department after the 2025 season ... if DeWitt gives Bloom the permission to increase the payroll with aggressive spending, will Bloom come through? Can he be effective at doing it?

DeWitt and Bloom can form a strong partnership -- but they both have something to prove.

Over the weekend the Blues acquired left-shot defenseman Cam Fowler from the Anaheim Ducks, and he was ready to go and in uniform for The Note's games against Dallas (Saturday) and the NY Rangers (Sunday) mostly teaming with defenseman Colton Parayko.

In this video I explain why this was a smart and obvious move by Blues hockey commander Doug Armstrong. It's a short-term, low-risk addition that was affordable and helpful. And this Blues were overloading Parayko, Justin Faulk, Ryan Suter with playing-time minutes. The same can be said of the share of minutes being taken by Philip Broberg. In a long and physically exhausting season, it will help the Blues to distribute the minutes among more defensemen.

On top of that, the Blues have significantly reduced their goals allowed since Jim Montgomery became coach on Nov. 25, and Armstrong is doing the right thing to reinforce an existing strength and keep this D-group strong. Thanks for checking out the video.

On Saturday, The Athletic reported the Houston Astros have emerged as a "serious suitor" in a trade for Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado. The report also noted that no deal is imminent. But this could lead to a trade; as I type this we just don't know the answer. And depending on when you choose to watch this video, we may have gotten the answer by then ... one way or the other.

Arenado has full no-trade protection, and according to a report at MLB.com, Houston isn't on the list of Arenado's acceptable destination. But the Astros have made the playoffs 9 times in the last 10 years including their current streak of eight consecutive years. Houston still has enough talent to extend that impressive streak. And those Crawford Boxes down the left field line would give Arenado's right-handed, pull-side power some cheap homers.

In this video, I also offer a detailed breakdown of the financial aspects of this potential trade and why it makes sense for the Astros -- contrary to public opinion -- to go for Arenado rather than increase their recent six-year, $156 million offer to Bregman (now a free agent.) The Astros appear to be moving on from Bregman. Can they get Arenado? Thanks for watching.

The Brewers made a big trade Friday, sending the deluxe closer Devin Williams to the Yankees for starting pitcher Nestor Cortes and $4.5 million in cash. The Brewers were concerned about the rotation, so they traded a short-term reliever for a short-term starter. I say that because Williams and Cortes likely will become free agents after the 2025 season. The Brewers didn't care because (1) they are going for another division title in 2025, so the win-now approach was logical.

The Cardinals, however, are holding onto closer Ryan Helsley and starting pitcher Erick Fedde. Both can leave as free agents after 2025. Unlike the win-now Brewers, the Cardinals have set aside 2025 as a transition year. They're going with a younger roster. They're preparing for Chaim Bloom to take over at the top of the baseball ops department after the coming season. The Cards have also started a massive undertaking to get their outdated player-development and minor-league system up to speed. That is a vital and overdue step.

The Cardinals are using 2025 to build for the future. The Brewers are building for 2025. So why would the Cardinals hold onto tradeable assets that would get them a very healthy return on the trade market? Makes no sense.

The Cardinals still have time to do what's best for the future. And the Brewers helped the Cardinals out (indirectly) by trading Williams -- because the move only makes Helsley a more valuable commodity on the trade market. Do the cautious Cardinals have the nerve to trade Helsley and Fedde? Or will they chicken out again?

Cardinals icon Albert Pujols is taking a lot of criticism from fans of the Leones del Escogido team in the Dominican Republic Winter League. As I type this, Pujols' club has lost 15 of its last 21 games to fall to fourth place in the six-team league and veteran reporter/broadcaster Mike Rodriguez said the rookie manager is being "severely criticized" by upset fans and that "many are calling for the manager's dismissal."

Gee that was fast. Pujols has never managed until now, and his team is 21-20. Despite the current slump, I don't think a mediocre record disqualifies Pujols from managing the Cardinals or any MLB team in due time.

But there's also the matter of current Cardinals manager Oli Marmol; 2025 will be an important year for him and the club as he enters his fourth season as the skipper. Can the Cardinals do better than expected? Or will they stagger to a terrible season and cost ownership more ticket revenue? There is no way to answer that right now, but I am sure of this: Marmol will be given a fair chance to stay in the job and fulfill his contract in 2026. His chances of staying in the gig are probably better than some folks realize. We'll see. As I said, 2025 is a big year for Marmol, and the young players must show improvement.

The St. Louis Blues have experienced a dramatic transformation since Jim Montgomery replaced Drew Bannister as coach late last month. In seven games under Monty the Blues are 5-1-1 for the NHL's fifth-best points percentage since Nov. 25. The Blues have significantly increased their scoring rate. They have significantly lowered their goals-against rate. They've turned into a superb road team. A long list if individual players are thriving with Montgomery installed as their leader. In today's video I take a look at the Blues' improvement in so many areas.

These are the New Blues. The Montgomery Blues.

The St. Louis Cardinals almost certainly will trade third baseman Nolan Arenado before the calendar flips to 2025; president of baseball operations John Mozeliak expressed confidence in a deal getting done.

OK, Cardinals fans ... what is your opinion of Arenado's four seasons in St. Louis? And what is your opinion on the four seasons that Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt played together as Cardinal teammates?

The first two seasons were good. The Cardinals made the playoffs both years and won the division with 93 victories in 2022. The 2022 Cardinals were stronger than the 2021 Cardinals because the starting pitching was much stronger in '22 -- especially after Mozeliak acquired Jordan Montgomery and Jose Quinata at the trade deadline.

But the 2021 and 2022 Cardinals were failures offensively in both postseasons, going 0-3 and scoring four lousy runs in 27 innings. Arenado and Goldschmidt were a big part of the problem, going 2 for 22 with seven strikeouts in the three games.

Goldschmidt is gone, and Arenado soon will be. Not a single postseason win as teammates in St. Louis. And in their final two seasons together, 2023 and 2024, the Cardinals ranked 22nd overall and 11th in the NL in winning percentage. What went wrong? How do assign blame? What is your verdict?

As always, thanks for watching.

Obviously the St. Louis Cardinals were never going to be a factor in the bid for free-agent right fielder Juan Soto, who on Sunday agreed to terms with the NY Mets on a massive 15-year, $765 million deal that set a MLB record for the largest contract that doesn't contain deferred payments.

But how does the Soto signing -- and the free-agent spending spree we've seen this offseason -- impact the Cardinals franchise? In this video I offer opinions and perspective and explain why chairman Bill DeWitt Jr.'s recruitment of baseball executive Chaim Bloom is more important to the Cardinals' future than we probably realize.

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