By Curt Bishop,Yardbarker

Copyright yardbarker

Why the Cardinals shouldn’t trade Willson Contreras

First of all, Contreras has not expressed any desire to leave St. Louis and has repeatedly stated that he wants to stay, even as the team rebuilds. But there are other reasons that the Cardinals should keep him around.

It’s almost a given that St. Louis will be trading some key veterans and trying to open up spots for younger players. It will be a very youthful team again in 2026. With all of the young players still in the mix, St. Louis needs to have at least one veteran leader around.

Players respect Contreras and the passion and fire he brings to the game. Without that, the Cardinals wouldn’t have a leader to help rally the troops.

Contreras is also the only player on the team to have hit 20 home runs. The Cardinals don’t have much power, but he is the one hitter in their lineup who is capable of it. They need to have at least one slugger in their mix so they can have different ways to score runs in 2026. Without him, they lose the power aspect completely.

Ultimately, it depends on whether he is willing to waive his no-trade clause, but even if the Cardinals aren’t contending, it will be important for them to at least have a veteran presence around and a slugger in their lineup that can do damage.