The Cardinals don’t appear to be planning a major teardown.

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to operate with a smaller payroll in 2025. This means they likely will not be active in free agency and will look to build from within.

Several players could be traded, and others will simply not be brought back after their contracts expired. President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak has stated that he wants the team to have “ultimate flexibility” in terms of finances for next season.

Of the players that could be traded, right-hander Sonny Gray, who was signed to a three-year, $75 million contract last offseason, is one that will generate plenty of trade interest with the Cardinals kicking off a rebuild.

However, Mozeliak recently stated that he plans to have Gray in the rotation in 2025.

“Going into next year, we still have Miles [Mikolas], Sonny [Gray], [Steven] Matz, [Erick] Fedde, Pallante and McGreevy knocking on the door. So we feel like we have some depth there,” Mozeliak said.