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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/los-angeles-angels/angels-news-mike-trout-loves-cardinals-st-louis');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Angels’ Mike Trout loves playing Cardinals in St. Louis');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Angels-news-Why-Mike-Trout-loves-playing-Cardinals-in-St.-Louis.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Angels’ Mike Trout loves playing Cardinals in St. Louis</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-01T17:35:03-07:00">April 1st, 5:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-01T17:35:03-07:00">April 1st, 5:35pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Angels</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Angels play the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/angels-vs-cardinals-prediction-odds-pick-4-1-2025">second of three games against the St Louis Cardinals on Tuesday</a>. While neither team is expected to do much this year, it is still a special moment for one star. Angels outfielder Mike Trout says he loves playing against the Cardinals <a href="https://x.com/joeyschneider95/status/1907200656726688176" rel="noopener">because of one of his former teammates’ love for the city</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Mike Trout on St. Louis: "I love coming here. I love playing here. Obviously when Albert was here, he talked up so much about it. … When I saw the schedule come out and saw that St. Louis was on the schedule, I circled it. I always love coming here." <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Angels?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Angels</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/STLCards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#STLCards</a> <a href="https://t.co/aHS1UyqxGG">pic.twitter.com/aHS1UyqxGG</a></p><p>— Joey Schneider (@joeyschneider95) <a href="https://twitter.com/joeyschneider95/status/1907200656726688176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I love coming here. I love playing here. Obviously, when Albert [Pujols] was here, he talked up so much about it,” Trout told the media, per Joey Schneider of KTVI St Louis. “To be able to play here and just experience it, the fans are unbelievable.”</p><p>Trout continued, “When I saw the schedule come out and saw that St. Louis was on the schedule, I circled it. I always love coming here.”</p><p>Trout was key to the Angels’ win over the Cardinals on Monday. He went 0-3 but picked up two RBIs on sacrifice flies, including the game-winning run in the tenth inning. In six games at Busch Stadium, Trout has a .261 batting average with one home run and three RBIs.</p><p>Pujols joined the Angels in 2012 after 12 iconic seasons with the Cardinals. He linked up with a 20-year-old Trout and told him some great tales of playing in St Louis.</p><h2><b>The Angels need a healthy Mike Trout this season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mike-Trout-with-LA-Angels-1.jpg"><figcaption>Joe Puetz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Last year, Trout played his final game on April 29. The Angels went on to post a 63-99 record, the worst mark in franchise history, in their first year without Shohei Ohtani. They<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-angels/angels-news-mike-trout-reacts-shohei-ohtani-winning-world-series-dodgers"> watched Ohtani win another MVP and the World Series with the crosstown Dodgers</a>. Trout came into the season healthy and the Angels added some solid pieces in free agency. But they need their star to stay healthy to have a solid season.</p><p>Through four games, Trout has struggled this season. He is 1-13 with three strikeouts and one walk and just the two RBIs he got on Monday. The Angels have won all three games by just one run thanks to great pitching. They need Trout and the rest of the offense to step up soon to keep the momentum up.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/jorge-soler-trade-grades-braves-angels-deal">Angels added Jorge Soler</a>, Yusei Kikuchi, and Travis D’Arnaud this offseason. While those are not the Juan Sotos of the world, they are the most notable names they have added in many years. If those pieces click alongside a healthy Trout, the Angels could make a surprise run at the playoffs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Angels’ Mike Trout loves playing Cardinals in St. Louis

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-white-sox-st-louis-star-lance-lynn-announces-retirement');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ex-Cardinals, White Sox star Lance Lynn announces retirement');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Cardinals-news-St-Louis-gets-major-Lance-Lynn-injury-update.jpg"></figure><h1>Ex-Cardinals, White Sox star Lance Lynn announces retirement</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-01T08:41:03-07:00">April 1st, 8:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-01T08:47:44-07:00">April 1st, 8:47am</time><address><a>Matt Wadleigh</a>Matt Wadleigh is the lead NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball editor for ClutchPoints, and he also specializes in MLB and NFL coverage. He was born and raised in Oceanside and resides in Fresno with his wife and two dogs. Matthew is a huge Southern California sports fan and a retired member of the Fresno State drumline.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Back in 2011, Lance Lynn made his MLB debut for the St. Louis Cardinals. The veteran righthander spent six seasons with the Cardinals before bouncing around. In 2024, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-news-lance-lynn-reunite-mlb-free-agency-one-year-10-million-deal">Lynn returned to St. Louis</a> for the 2024 season. However, with the 2025 campaign less than two weeks old, Lynn has decided to announce his retirement from the MLB.</p><p>The longtime pitcher <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25IAlGX2kQs" rel="noopener">made the announcement</a> on his wife’s podcast, “<i>Dymin in the Rough</i>.”</p><p>“Baseball season is upon us, and I’m right here on the couch,” Lynn said. “And that is where I’m going to stay. There’s the update. I’m officially retiring from baseball, right here, right now. But there might be a little something fun around the corner, upcoming weekend.”</p><p>“For Major League Baseball, I am done pitching,” Lynn added.</p><p>“There were some teams here and there, money didn’t work out,” Lance Lynn added. “I’ve really enjoyed not being there. I’m always going to miss the teammates, competing, stuff like that. I’ve not missed being there every day.”</p><p>“The way that I went out last year was a big thing, too,” Lynn added. “I got to finish my last play as a Cardinal, in Busch Stadium, on a win. We didn’t know but we kind of knew… Retiring a Cardinal, last Major League game in Busch Stadium with the whole family there. Let’s call it.”</p><p>One of Lynn’s best MLB seasons came in 2012 when he was named an All-Star. He recorded an 18-7 record with a 3.78 ERA, and in 2021, he was an All-Star again with the Chicago White Sox, recording an 11-6 record with a 2.69 ERA.</p><p>Lynn’s first year in the big leagues was in 2011 when the Cardinals won the World Series.</p><p>Now, he seems at peace with the decision and ends his career on a high note with the team that he broke into the big leagues with.</p><p>Lynn will end his career with a combined 143-99 win-loss record, a 3.74 ERA, 340 starts, four complete games, 2006 innings pitched, and 2,015 strikeouts.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Ex-Cardinals, White Sox star Lance Lynn announces retirement

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-cardinals-willson-contreras-gets-real-disgusting-moment-twins-clash');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cardinals’ Willson Contreras gets real on ‘disgusting’ moment in Twins clash');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Willson-Contreras-gets-real-on-disgusting-moment-in-Twins-clash.jpg"></figure><h1>Cardinals’ Willson Contreras gets real on ‘disgusting’ moment in Twins clash</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-30T21:44:42-07:00">March 30th, 9:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-31T15:12:03-07:00">March 31st, 3:12pm</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He's a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic. In addition to sports writing, he works for Arizona Football in the Player Personnel and Recruiting department and formerly served as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In a moment that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-news-willson-contreras-full-time-position-change">left fans stunned—and Willson Contreras himself slightly horrified</a>—the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-news-how-willson-contreras-is-embracing-major-career-switch-for-cardinals">Cardinals catcher-turned-first-baseman</a> found himself <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/willson-contreras-eats-batting-tape" rel="noopener">chewing on bat tape</a> during Saturday’s 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. And it wasn’t on purpose.</p><p>The strange scene unfolded in the bottom of the third inning when Contreras stepped into the batter’s box for a full-count pitch. With the pitch clock winding down and no timeouts remaining, he noticed that the grip tape near the knob of his bat was starting to unravel. In a quick but bizarre decision, Contreras used his teeth to tear off the loose tape—then, with only seconds to spare before needing to be alert in the box, stuffed it into his mouth rather than risk a pitch clock violation.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Forget chewing gum. Chewing batting tape is the way to go 😆</p><p>📺: FS1 <a href="https://t.co/smL5WJViAB">pic.twitter.com/smL5WJViAB</a></p><p>— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1906059567123013785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“That was a bad taste, really bad,” Contreras admitted after the game with a laugh. “I don’t try to put [pine tar or sticky spray] on my [bat], but it was disgusting. It was a bad taste.”</p><p>Contreras ultimately struck out swinging on the next pitch, but said he’d rather go down that way than be rung up automatically due to the clock. The new pitch timer rules allow only one timeout per at-bat, and batters must be set and alert to the pitcher by the 8-second mark. At the time, the clock showed 11 seconds.</p><h2><b>Cardinals sweep the Twins in the opening series of 2025</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Willson-Contreras.jpg"><figcaption>Jeff Curry-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>“With this clock, you have to do things that are out of your control, and I had to do that instead of striking out,” Contreras explained. “Well, I struck out anyways, but I’d rather strike out swinging rather than by the clock.”</p><p>The moment quickly went viral, with Cardinals fans and broadcasters alike trying to figure out why Contreras was chomping down on his bat grip. It turned out to be a split-second decision in the name of avoiding a violation—but it didn’t come without some regret.</p><p>“I don’t think [chewing the tape] was a bad thing to do, but I was just running out of time. I had no time,” he said. “I didn’t even know that it was on TV, and I had totally forgotten about it. I was literally watching the clock… 11, 10 seconds and I was like, ‘Bro, get ready to hit!’ That’s what happened.”</p><p>Contreras, who had an excellent spring training at the plate, has struggled out of the gate in the regular season, going 0-for-9 with five strikeouts across the first two games. Still, his sense of humor remained intact.</p><p>“Oh man, if I hit a homer on that, I’m doing it every time,” he joked. Hopefully for Contreras, better at-bats—and better taste—are ahead. But as far as viral moments go, this one may linger just a little longer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cardinals’ Willson Contreras gets real on ‘disgusting’ moment in Twins clash

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-nolan-arenado-reacts-surprise-curtain-call-opening-day-home-run');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado reacts to surprise curtain call after Opening Day home run');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Cardinals-news-Nolan-Arenado-reacts-to-surprise-curtain-call-after-Opening-Day-home-run.jpg"></figure><h1>Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado reacts to surprise curtain call after Opening Day home run</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-28T09:48:26-07:00">March 28th, 9:48am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-28T09:48:26-07:00">March 28th, 9:48am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/twins-cardinals-prediction-odds-pick-3-27-2025">St. Louis Cardinals opened their 2025 campaign with a 5-3 victory</a> over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. Nolan Arenado provided the cherry on top for the Cardinals, hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give his team a two-run lead that they would not relinquish. And after his blast, Arenado earned himself a curtain call from the St. Louis faithful.</p><p>It was a trying offseason for Arenado, as he found himself <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-news-nolan-arenado-brutally-honest-not-traded-offseason">constantly involved in trade rumors</a>, and at one point, he even turned down a deal that would have sent him to the Houston Astros. After all of that, he ended up staying put, and his heroic efforts earned him a warm reaction from Cardinals fans. After the game, Arenado <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44436770/cardinals-nolan-arenado-soaks-emotional-post-hr-curtain-call" rel="noopener">kept it real</a> when discussing what the home run meant to him.</p><p>“I wasn’t expecting the curtain call,” Arenado said after the game. “I’m actually surprised I got it. I don’t think I got one last year … The way they cheered for me, it meant a lot to me and it got me motivated, and I was just fortunate to give them something to cheer about again. Usually, they don’t do curtain calls if you hit one homer, but it was a big homer.”</p><h2><b>Nolan Arenado, Cardinals looking to put together bounce back campaign in 2025</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Cardinals-third-baseman-Nolan-Arenado.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Arenado took a big step back in 2024 with the Cardinals, posting a .272 batting average while hitting 16 home runs and driving in 71 runs over 152 games of action. Those certainly aren’t numbers to scoff at, but considering the level at which Arenado had produced in prior seasons, such as in 2022, when he hit .293 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs, it was a notable drop in production.</p><p>It’s only one game, but Arenado’s 2025 campaign is off to a solid start, and if he can turn back the clock this season, St. Louis could end up surprising fans. For now, they will focus on continuing to ride the momentum from their season-opening win, as they will look to stay in the win column when they return to action on Saturday afternoon against the Twins.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado reacts to surprise curtain call after Opening Day home run

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-ken-rosenthal-st-louis-failing-trade-3-stars');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ken Rosenthal roasts Cardinals for failing to trade 3 stars already');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Cardinals-news-Ken-Rosenthal-roasts-St.-Louis-for-failing-to-trade-3-stars-already.jpg"></figure><h1>Ken Rosenthal roasts Cardinals for failing to trade 3 stars already</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-27T08:10:37-07:00">March 27th, 8:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-27T08:10:37-07:00">March 27th, 8:10am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The St Louis Cardinals are entering a rebuild. Former <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-chaim-bloom-set-to-lead-st-louis-rebuild">Red Sox and Rays executive Chaim Bloom is in town running minor-league operations</a> this year before he takes over everything next year. They let Paul Goldschmidt walk in free agency, declined options on Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, and did not give out any long-term deals. But the trade market dried up for the Cardinals this offseason. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6232629/2025/03/27/mlb-season-storylines-opening-day-2025/" rel="noopener">crushed the front office</a> for not trading Nolan Arenado, Erick Fedde, and Ryan Helsley before the season.</p><p>“It won’t be any of the St. Louis Cardinals, whose biggest accomplishment this season might be trading third baseman Nolan Arenado, right-hander Erick Fedde and closer Ryan Helsley — moves they should have made already, though Arenado foiled a deal to the Astros by invoking his no-trade clause,” Rosenthal wrote.</p><p>Arenado was on the block all offseason long, but they could not secure a deal. He<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/astros-news-joe-espada-gets-real-nolan-arenado-nixing-houston-trade"> declined the deal to the Astros</a>, and while rumors swirled around the Yankees, nothing came to fruition. The pitchers were not part of the conversation publicly, but should be on the move before the trade deadline.</p><p>Opening Day is about hope for so many teams, but Cardinals fans are hoping for a solid trade deadline this season.</p><h2><b>The Cardinals must trade all of their veterans</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Nolan-Arenado-with-STL-Cardinals-8.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>With a new regime coming in next year, the Cardinals should be ready to sell at the trade deadline. They have solid veterans who can be important pieces to championship rosters, but they won’t compete this season. Arenado, Helsley, and Fedde will be the big names, but there are plenty of other players they could move out.</p><p>In the rotation, long-time Cardinal Miles Mikolas is also a pending free agent. He struggled for most of last year but if he bounces back early this season, there will be teams calling on him. Mikolas has made 99 starts over the past three years and lasts deep into games routinely.</p><p>Sonny Gray is signed through 2026 with a club option for 2027. The Cardinals owe him a lot of money and would likely have to retain some money in a trade. They should do that to get better prospects from a team looking for a solid starter at the back end of their rotation.</p><p>The Cardinals have their eyes on the future, and the best way to set that up is by trading Nolan Arenado, Erick Fedde, Ryan Helsley, and more. St Louis hosts the Minnesota Twins on Opening Day.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Ken Rosenthal roasts Cardinals for failing to trade 3 stars already

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-nolan-arenado-focus-vetoing-astros-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nolan Arenado reveals ‘focus’ after vetoing Astros trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Nolan-Arenado-reveals-focus-after-vetoing-Astros-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Nolan Arenado reveals ‘focus’ after vetoing Astros trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-26T15:51:56-07:00">March 26th, 3:51pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-26T16:05:01-07:00">March 26th, 4:05pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The St. Louis Cardinals have missed the playoffs the last two years and the team has won one postseason series in the last decade. Facing a rebuild, St. Louis looked to cut payroll and began shopping Nolan Arenado. The Cardinals thought they had a partner in the Houston Astros but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-nolan-arenado-blocks-potential-astros-trade">Arenado blocked the trade</a>. Now, after a tumultuous offseason, the veteran third baseman is focused on putting together a strong season for St. Louis.</p><p>When Arenado used the no-trade clause in his contract to block a move to the Astros he realized he was interfering with the Cardinals’ <a href="https://www.stltoday.com/sports/professional/mlb/cardinals/article_df4da43d-2fc4-41ad-aec8-aab2892bce3b.html" rel="noopener">offseason plans</a>. “It was awkward at first,” Arenado admitted, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.</p><p>Then, when another trade failed to materialize, the eight-time All-Star resigned himself to playing for the Cardinals. “I was also at peace that I can’t control any of these things besides getting myself ready for the season. That’s what I really wrapped my head around. I’m going to be here. I am happy that I’m here. And I’m going to give it everything,” Arenado explained, via Goold.</p><h2><b>Nolan Arenado is grateful for another season with the Cardinals</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Nolan-Arenado_dfd088.jpg"><figcaption>Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Last season was a disappointment by Arenado’s standards. He slashed .272/.325/.394 with 16 home runs, 71 RBI and 70 runs scored, putting up 2.5 bWAR in 152 games for the Cardinals.</p><p>In hindsight, Arenado is glad to get another season in St. Louis. “I don’t think it would have been a good finish. I would always feel bad that my last year was that year. That’s what I’m focused on. I’m excited that I have another opportunity to change that,” he said, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.</p><p>“I would like to, God willing, stay healthy and give the Cardinals fans something better to remember than last year,” Arenado added.</p><p>Although he’s entering his age-34 season, Arenado is still considered a superb defensive player. He’s won 10 Gold Gloves and six Platinum Gloves over his career. He last won both awards in 2022 when he finished third in MVP voting.</p><p>While a number of teams showed interest in trading for Arenado, the Cardinals were unable to get a deal done. The Red Sox were the frontrunners to land his services at one point but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-nolan-arenado-likely-sticking-st-louis-alex-bregman-signs-red-sox">Boston signed Alex Bregman instead</a>.</p><p>Many observers believed Arenado would end up <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-yankees/yankees-news-paul-goldschmidt-breaks-silence-nolan-arenado-trade-rumors">joining former teammate Paul Goldschmidt</a> on the New York Yankees. The team needs a third baseman, particularly after DJ LeMahieu’s injury. But the Yankees refused to pull the trigger on a trade and Arenado will start the season with the Cardinals.</p><p>It’s possible St. Louis moves the veteran by the trade deadline. But for now, Arenado will get another shot to leave Cardinals fans with a good impression.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nolan Arenado reveals ‘focus’ after vetoing Astros trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-nolan-arenado-brutally-honest-not-traded-offseason');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nolan Arenado gets brutally honest after not getting traded during offseason');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Nolan-Arenado-gets-brutally-honest-after-not-getting-traded-during-offseason.jpg"></figure><h1>Nolan Arenado gets brutally honest after not getting traded during offseason</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-25T16:56:34-07:00">March 25th, 4:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-25T16:56:34-07:00">March 25th, 4:56pm</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Veteran <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-nolan-arenado-locked-in-admission-trade-rumors">third baseman Nolan Arenado</a> is about to break camp with the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s played four years in St. Louis, but even with two more years remaining on his contract, it seemed unlikely this winter that he would stay a Cardinal for year five.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/3-reasons-cardinals-must-trade-nolan-arenado">Arenado was at the center of trade rumors</a> all offseason as St. Louis entered a rebuild looking to clear payroll. Though the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-nolan-arenado-blocks-potential-astros-trade">Cardinals and Houston Astros publicly flirted</a> over a deal for him, Arenado ultimately blocked it and nothing else materialized. Now, Arenado enters the season playing for a team that <a href="https://www.stltoday.com/sports/professional/mlb/cardinals/article_df4da43d-2fc4-41ad-aec8-aab2892bce3b.html" rel="noopener">clearly did not want him</a>.</p><p>“It was awkward at first,” Arenado said, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I was also at peace that I can’t control any of these things besides getting myself ready for the season. That’s what I really wrapped my head around. I’m going to be here. I am happy that I’m here. And I’m going to give it everything.”</p><p>There’s another side of it, too. Arenado hit for a .719 OPS last year, the lowest since his rookie season, while hitting only 16 home runs despite a career average of more than 30 per season. He didn’t want to leave the Cardinals on a low note.</p><p>“Some of the awards while I’ve been here are pretty cool, but I don’t think it would have been a good finish,” he said. “I would always feel bad that my last year was that year. That’s what I’m focused on. I’m excited that I have another opportunity to change that.</p><p>“I’m excited for the opportunity to go out and compete and compete in a place where they take pride in good baseball. That’s what I want to give them.”</p><h2><b>DJ LeMahieu likes what he sees from his friend and Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Nolan-Arenado.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Arenado is about to turn 34, so his subpar 2024 could easily be chalked up to an All-Star aging out of his prime. That may be. But Arenado’s friend, New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu, lauded Arenado’s mentality coming into the 2025 season.</p><p>“He seems like he’s in a really good spot,” LeMahieu said, per Goold. “I don’t think things went the way he wanted to last year. He seems like he’s ready to go have a good year this year. Talking to him, he really wasn’t caught up in all the (trade) stuff going on. He wants to win. He wants to win really bad. From Day 1 that I’ve known him, he’s got that one thing on his mind.”</p><p>It seems that even with the Cardinals’ front office focused on building for the future, Arenado thinks St. Louis can make some noise now. They’ll get started on Thursday when they host the Minnesota Twins on Opening Day.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nolan Arenado gets brutally honest after not getting traded during offseason

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-cardinals-make-important-depth-opening-day-roster-decision');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cardinals make important depth Opening Day roster decision');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Cardinals-news-St.-Louis-makes-important-depth-Opening-Day-roster-decision.jpg"></figure><h1>Cardinals make important depth Opening Day roster decision</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-22T00:58:30-07:00">March 22nd, 12:58am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-22T18:08:20-07:00">March 22nd, 6:08pm</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He's a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic. In addition to sports writing, he works for Arizona Football in the Player Personnel and Recruiting department and formerly served as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-news-sonny-gray-disastrous-spring-training-dud">St. Louis Cardinals have made a pivotal roster decision</a> ahead of Opening Day, opting to include infielder José Fermín as part of their 26-man squad. Fermín will <a href="https://x.com/katiejwoo/status/1903075268425564484" rel="noopener">assume a utility bench role</a>, providing contact-hitting and defensive versatility across the infield.</p><p>“José Fermín has made the #STLCards Opening Day roster, per sources. He’ll serve as the back-up utility role/a contact bat off the bench. The Cardinals hope to finalize their 26-man roster before they break camp on Sunday.” via Katie Woo on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>Fermín’s inclusion may come as a surprise to some, given his underwhelming major-league numbers to date. In 66 career MLB games spanning the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the 25-year-old has hit just .189 with a .504 OPS and negative WAR.</p><p>However, the Cardinals are clearly betting on his red-hot spring and elite bat-to-ball skills to provide depth behind starters like Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, and Masyn Winn.</p><p>This spring, Fermín has impressed at the plate, slashing .282 with an .843 OPS, including a home run, five doubles, and nine RBIs in 17 Grapefruit League games. His emergence as a viable bench option gave him the edge over fellow infielder José Barrero, who was also vying for a reserve role.</p><h2><b>The Cardinals are close to finalizing their roster ahead of Opening Day</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Jose-Fermin.jpg"><figcaption>Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Manager Oliver Marmol has emphasized the importance of players who can consistently make contact, and that’s exactly what Fermín has brought to the table.</p><p>“You have a guy that just doesn’t swing and miss, and that’s his superpower — he finds a way to get the bat on the ball,” Marmol said. “There’s a lot of value in not swinging and missing, and he’s taken advantage of his opportunities.”</p><p>That ability to control the strike zone may trace all the way back to Fermín’s childhood. Growing up in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, his father would toss corn kernels for him to hit with a sawed-off broomstick. That hand-eye coordination drill became a daily ritual and helped forge the elite contact skills that now define Fermín’s offensive game.</p><p>“I was seven years old when we started, and we’d do it every day,” Fermín said. “It was just a way to get in practice, and it was a routine that worked for me.”</p><p>Fermín’s unique story and recent performance make him one of the more compelling bench pieces on the Cardinals roster. His positional versatility — he can play second, third, shortstop, and even the outfield — adds a layer of flexibility for Marmol, especially in late-game situations.</p><p>With the Cardinals aiming to finalize their Opening Day roster before breaking camp Sunday, Fermín’s inclusion represents a bet on upside, adaptability, and a skillset increasingly rare in today’s game: elite contact. For Fermín, making the roster is more than a personal milestone — it’s a fulfillment of a journey that he started with a broomstick and a handful of corn.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cardinals make important depth Opening Day roster decision

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-how-willson-contreras-is-embracing-major-career-switch-for-cardinals');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Willson Contreras is embracing major career switch for Cardinals');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Cardinals-news-How-Willson-Contreras-is-embracing-major-career-switch.jpg"></figure><h1>How Willson Contreras is embracing major career switch for Cardinals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-18T13:42:32-07:00">March 18th, 1:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-18T13:42:32-07:00">March 18th, 1:42pm</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Learning a new position is never easy in baseball, but St. Louis Cardinals <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-willson-contreras-full-time-position-change">catcher-turned-first-baseman Willson Contreras</a> is certainly approaching it with <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/willson-contreras-excels-in-move-to-first-base-for-cardinals">the right attitude</a>.</p><p>“I don’t think any position is easy to play, but I think the more you enjoy the process, the better you can get at it,” Contreras said, per John Denton of MLB.com. “It’s a learning experience for me this spring and I’m really just trying to enjoy it.”</p><p>The Cardinals decided at the end of last season to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-why-willson-contreras-showed-up-spring-training-12-pounds-heavier">move Contreras to first base</a> in order to preserve his body over the course of the season. The 32-year-old, who has caught the majority of games in his career, has hit for an OPS of .800 or higher each of the last three seasons. He also hit 15 home runs in 84 games in 2024 and has consistently been a 20-plus home run hitter.</p><p>“We think that being such a productive hitter, not catching will <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/42235546/cardinals-contreras-moving-catcher-1b-permanently" rel="noopener">make him a better hitter</a>,” Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said at the GM meetings in November. “How do we protect his career?”</p><h2><b>Willson Contreras has impressed the Cardinals with his play at first base</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Wilson-Contreras-2.jpg"><figcaption>Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>By all accounts, Contreras is a natural at the position. He’s played a grand total of 11 career games at first, but he seems to have taken to it quickly this spring.</p><p>“It’s not an easy position or what everybody thinks it is, and it can be a really tough spot to play,” fellow first baseman Alec Burleson said. “But Willson has put his work in and he’s even been asking me questions, which is kind of weird. But he looks awesome there. Your baseball instincts don’t ever really go away, and he’s using those over there at first. And it’s fun being over there [at first base] with him every day, and it’s been fun watching him make that transition.”</p><p>His manager, Oliver Marmol, praised Contreras for turning a tough 3-2-3 double play in the Cardinals’ game Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays.</p><p>“As a catcher, when you have a runner on third and you are back-picking, you teach to throw it right at the runner because they have one choice — duck and be out,” Marmol said. “[Contreras] took that same thought up the line while throwing home and it gets the guy to duck to buy some time for the double play.”</p><p>As an added bonus, Contreras is also hitting well this spring. In 35 plate appearances coming into Tuesday, he is slashing .367/.457/.533 with a home run and two doubles.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Willson Contreras is embracing major career switch for Cardinals

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-masyn-winn-scratched-marlins-spring-training-game');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Masyn Winn was scratched from Marlins-Cardinals spring training game');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Cardinals-news-Why-Masyn-Winn-was-scratched-from-Marlins-spring-training-game.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Masyn Winn was scratched from Marlins-Cardinals spring training game</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-18T10:54:39-07:00">March 18th, 10:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-18T10:54:39-07:00">March 18th, 10:54am</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The St. Louis Cardinals are taking on the Miami Marlins in a spring training game on Tuesday morning. Both teams are gearing up for the 2025 season with hopes of competing for a potential playoff spot later in the year—however, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/st-louis-cardinals-bold-predictions-2025-mlb-season">St. Louis’ star shortstop Masyn Winn</a> was a healthy scratch from the lineup due to injury.</p><p>Reports indicate that Winn is not playing in Tuesday’s contest <a href="https://x.com/RobRains/status/1902039399249871159" rel="noopener">due to soreness in his right wrist</a>, according to Cardinals beat writer Rob Rains. The good news is that the team claims that the 22-year-old shortstop’s absence is precautionary, which bodes well for his chances to play on Opening Day.</p><p>“Winn scratched from [Cardinals] lineup today because of soreness in his right wrist. Team says move was precautionary.”</p><p>That likely gives Masyn Winn a day-to-day standing with the club. Opening Day is on March 27, so the Cardinals star will have several days to bounce back from the injury. Jose Barrero fills in for Winn on Tuesday and will be batting ninth in the lineup against the Marlins.</p><p>Masyn Winn is entering his third year in the majors, however, the 2024 season was his true rookie year after playing in 150 games. He finished last season with a .267 batting average and a .314 OBP while recording 57 RBIs, 15 home runs, and 11 stolen bases. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-masyn-winn-bold-stolen-base-prediction-breakout-season">The Cardinals shortstop has noted that he wants</a> to improve his stolen bases in the 2025 season, at the very least.</p><p>The Cardinals hope their young star will further his development in 2025, which would provide a huge boost to the offense in general. They finished with an 83-79 record and missed the postseason once again. St. Louis hasn’t made a playoff appearance since the 2022 season where they were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies in two games in the Wild Card round.</p><p>Opening Day is on March 27 and the Cardinals are set to face off against the Minnesota Twins in a home game. The organization will likely monitor Masyn Winn’s status and help prepare him for the season opener.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Masyn Winn was scratched from Marlins-Cardinals spring training game

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/st-louis-cardinals-bold-predictions-2025-mlb-season');   ga('set', 'title', '3 St. Louis Cardinals bold predictions for 2025 MLB season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/X-St.-Louis-Cardinals-bold-predictions-for-2025-MLB-season.jpg"></figure><h1>3 St. Louis Cardinals bold predictions for 2025 MLB season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-17T07:33:22-07:00">March 17th, 7:33am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-18T08:51:49-07:00">March 18th, 8:51am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The St Louis Cardinals are entering a rebuild. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/2-offseason-moves-cardinals-must-make-after-missing-playoffs">missing the playoffs for two straight seasons</a>, they are letting veterans walk and looking to improve their pipeline. As their division rivals improve, it could be a bleak season for a fanbase that has not had many bleak seasons. We have our bold predictions for the St Louis Cardinals ahead of the 2025 MLB season.</p><p>The Cardinals let Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Kitteridge walk in free agency. Their only major-league addition this offseason was relief pitcher Phil Maton. So the team that won only 83 games last year has taken a step back and is not afraid of hiding it. They <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-chaim-bloom-set-to-lead-st-louis-rebuild">hired Chaim Bloom, former Red Sox and Rays executive, to run their minor-league operations</a> this year and take over the whole team next year. This is a transition year, which helps inform the bold predictions for the Cardinals.</p><p>Who will be the standout player for the Cardinals this year? Will they finally trade Nolan Arenado? There are a lot of questions in St Louis and we have some answers in our bold predictions.</p><h2><b>The Cardinals will finish last in the National League Central</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Nolan-Arenado-with-STL-Cardinals-7.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>For years, the Cubs and Cardinals have duked it out for the National League Central title. In recent years, the Milwaukee Brewers have joined the fray as a consistent 90-game winner. But the Reds and Pirates always took up the last two spots and provided some easy wins for these teams. With both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh adding elite young talent, the Cardinals will finish last in the division this year.</p><p>Last year, the Cardinals were tied with the Cubs, ten games behind the Brewers <a href="https://www.mlb.com/standings/2024" rel="noopener">in the division</a>. They were six games better than the Reds and seven better than the Pirates. But with their offseason losses and an expected sell-off at the MLB trade deadline, that cushion will disappear.</p><p>The Cardinals have three starting pitchers on expiring contracts that should be traded before the deadline. Steven Matz, Erick Fedde, and Miles Mikolas should all be on the move and if <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-news-sonny-gray-disastrous-spring-training-dud">someone wants two years of Sonny Gray, he could go too</a>. That will make them a punching bag for teams jockeying for position in a crowded NL Wild Card race.</p><h2><b>Nolan Arenado finishes the year in St Louis</b></h2><p>This Cardinals offseason was defined by their quest to trade Nolan Arenado. His <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-rumors-nolan-arenado-shockingly-shot-down-astros-trade">no-trade clause prevented a trade to the Houston Astros</a> and they could not work out a deal with anyone on his approved list. So the former MVP will remain at the hot corner in St Louis with three years left on his deal. He will stay with the Cardinals through this season and the drama will pick up again next year.</p><p>The highest-profile team with a third-base opening is the New York Yankees but they have so many injuries that they cannot afford to make a trade. Unless a team gets desperate this season, his contract is so expensive that it is easier to make the trade in the offseason. The Cardinals can get more from him when the salary goes down as well, so it is better for everyone.</p><p>Arenado will likely not finish out his contract with the Cardinals but he will be there through the end of this season.</p><h2><b>Masyn Winn takes a big offensive step forward</b></h2><p>The Cardinals rebuild is built on a lot of players but the first one to make a name for himself in the big leagues is Masyn Winn. The shortstop was tremendous last season, leading St Louis with a 4.2 bWAR despite average offensive numbers. His 102 OPS+ was solid for a 22-year-old but his offense will take a bigger step up this season.</p><p>Winn made his MLB debut in 2023, playing in 37 games with very poor offensive stats. He had a .467 OPS, which rose to .730 over a 150-game sample in 2024. Another slight tick up and Winn could join some of the elite shortstops in the game as great defenders and dominant hitters.</p><p>The Cardinals need great offense from Winn to give fans hope that this rebuild can work. With the pressure on the organization to make this rebuild work, Winn’s performance this year will be important.</p><p>What are your bold predictions for the Cardinals this year? Can they surprise everyone and make the playoffs?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 St. Louis Cardinals bold predictions for 2025 MLB season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-sonny-gray-disastrous-spring-training-dud');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray’s disastrous spring training continues with latest dud');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Sonny-Grays-disastrous-spring-training-continues-with-latest-dud.jpg"></figure><h1>Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray’s disastrous spring training continues with latest dud</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-16T17:10:10-07:00">March 16th, 5:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-16T17:10:10-07:00">March 16th, 5:10pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The St Louis Cardinals are entering a rebuild in 2025. They did not improve their areas of weakness this offseason and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/mlb-power-rankings-week-1-spring-training-baseline">could be headed toward a last-place finish in the NL Central</a>. One of those positions was starting pitcher, where they have a lot of veterans who could be traded. Sonny Gray is not improving his trade stock with a brutal spring training for the Cardinals. The Athletic’s Katie Woo <a href="https://x.com/katiejwoo/status/1901343564979720408" rel="noopener">has the numbers</a> from another poor performance on Sunday.</p><p>“That is about as rough as it gets for a spring outing for Sonny Gray,” Woo posted on social media. “Gray is pulled with one out in the fourth, his third consecutive [roll-over] inning. He threw 72 pitches, [and] was tagged for 7 ER. He’s given up six homers over 9 1/3 innings this spring. It has not looked good.”</p><p>Gray has made three starts for the Cardinals in spring training and has only pitched 9.2 innings. He has allowed 15 runs on 16 hits in those appearances. Manager Oliver Marmol has tried to use the roll-over inning rule to help Gray and it has not worked. That is when a pitcher comes out of a spring game in the middle of an inning but returns for the start of the next one.</p><h2><b>The Cardinals must increase Sonny Gray’s trade value</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Sonny-Gray-with-STL-Cardinals.jpg"><figcaption>Rhona Wise-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>This season in St Louis is not about winning. They brought <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-chaim-bloom-set-to-lead-st-louis-rebuild">former Red Sox and Rays executive Chaim Bloom in to oversee their minor-league operation</a> this year and take over the whole team next year. They let Paul Goldschmidt walk and tried to trade Nolan Arenado. This is finally a rebuild and they are fooling no one. So getting solid starts from pitchers who they could trade will be important.</p><p>Every contender needs a starting pitcher by the MLB trade deadline. Despite this spring performance, a team may pay up for Gray by then. But he needs to perform well to get that far. Miles Mikolas, Erick Fedde, and Steven Matz are all on expiring contracts, which Gray is not. They will be better trade assets at the deadline.</p><p>Despite the lack of expectations in St Louis, they still have players to watch for the future. Shortstop Masyn Winn is the biggest name thanks to his solid season last year. Michael Siani, Brandon Donavan, and Nolan Gorman are the other names who make up the core they hope can bring them back to the playoffs. For now, it is tough sledding for the Cardinals.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray’s disastrous spring training continues with latest dud

2025 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	HOLDS	SAVES
27	0	15	0.8889	2	0

2025 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	HOLDS	SAVES
27	0	15	0.8889	2	0

JoJo
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