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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/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-ivan-herrera-strong-message-cardinals-fans-unfortunate-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ivan Herrera shares strong message to Cardinals fans after unfortunate injury');   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/Ivan-Herrera.jpg"><figcaption>Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Ivan Herrera shares strong message to Cardinals fans after unfortunate injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-06T22:17:17-07:00">April 6th, 10:17pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-06T22:17:17-07:00">April 6th, 10:17pm</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>Just days after launching three home runs in a single game and lighting a fire under the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-early-season-superstar-helped-off-field-with-scary-injury">St. Louis Cardinals’ offense, catcher Iván Herrera was helped off the field</a> Sunday afternoon with an apparent knee injury. But despite the scare, Herrera <a href="https://x.com/katiejwoo/status/1909080389521375689" rel="noopener">delivered a hopeful message</a> to fans shortly after.</p><p>“I’ll be back soon,” Herrera said, per The Athletic’s Katie Woo. Manager Oliver Marmol echoed that sentiment, stating the team had “avoided a bad situation” after tests confirmed Herrera’s knee remained structurally sound. The diagnosis: inflammation in his left knee, enough to land Herrera on the injured list<a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44561584/cardinals-catcher-ivan-herrera-exits-knee-inflammation" rel="noopener"> but not serious enough</a> to suggest long-term damage.</p><p>The injury occurred during <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/rafael-devers-historic-180-degree-turn-after-brutal-start-to-red-sox-season">Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader in against the Red Sox</a>. Herrera was running the bases when he came up hobbling on his way from first to third on a Nolan Arenado double. He was unable to put weight on his left leg and had to be helped off by trainers and manager Marmol. He did not return for the second game.</p><h2><b>Ivan Herrera will return to the Cardinals after a short stint on the IL</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Ivan-Herrera-cover.jpg"></figure><p>Though the loss of Herrera is a blow, the Cardinals are breathing a sigh of relief that it’s not something more serious. The 23-year-old catcher has been on an absolute tear to open the 2025 season, hitting .400/.455/1.100 through 22 plate appearances with four homers and seven RBIs. His offensive explosion, including a three-homer game against the Angels, turned heads across the league.</p><p>“It could’ve been a lot worse,” Marmol told ESPN’s Buster Olney during the Sunday night broadcast. “We’re lucky with this one.”</p><p>While Herrera heals, the Cardinals will turn to Pedro Pagés to handle the bulk of catching duties. Pagés, who replaced Herrera midgame Sunday, has had a solid start in limited action, going 4-for-10 with a double and a homer. While not expected to replicate Herrera’s offensive ceiling, Pagés provides steady defense and respectable contact hitting.</p><p>Behind Pagés, the Cardinals are calling up Yohel Pozo, who will need to be added to the 40-man roster. Pozo hasn’t played in the majors since a brief stint with the Rangers in 2021 but brings a solid bat. He’s been a consistent performer at the Triple-A level, boasting a career .321/.343/.545 slash line in 329 games. He won’t match that production in the bigs, but the Cardinals are hopeful he can provide some punch while Herrera recovers.</p><p>Interestingly, the team continues to avoid using Willson Contreras behind the plate, even in emergencies. Contreras, now stationed at first base full-time, didn’t catch during either game of the doubleheader despite his background as a longtime starting catcher. For now, St. Louis will rely on Pagés and Pozo, but Herrera’s bat and presence will be sorely missed. Fortunately for the Cardinals — and their fans — his message was clear: this isn’t goodbye for long.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Ivan Herrera shares strong message to Cardinals fans after unfortunate injury

<!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/boston-red-sox/rafael-devers-historic-180-degree-turn-after-brutal-start-to-red-sox-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rafael Devers’ historic 180-degree turn after brutal start to Red Sox 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/2025/04/Rafael-Devers-2.jpg"></figure><h1>Rafael Devers’ historic 180-degree turn after brutal start to Red Sox season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-06T21:57:15-07:00">April 6th, 9:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-06T21:57:15-07:00">April 6th, 9:57pm</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">Boston Red Sox</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Just one week ago, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/red-sox-news-fans-clown-rafael-devers-miserable-slump-season-start">Rafael Devers looked lost at the plate.</a> Now, he’s making history. The Boston Red Sox slugger has flipped the script in a dramatic way, becoming the first player in modern MLB history to go hitless with 15 or more strikeouts across a five-game span — and then collect 10 or more hits in his next five games. It’s <a href="https://x.com/OptaSTATS/status/1909084059315109994" rel="noopener">a remarkable turnaround</a>, and it’s helping fuel a red-hot stretch for the Red Sox, who’ve now won five straight games.</p><p>Devers was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/red-sox-news-rafael-devers-nightmare-finally-over">front and center in Sunday’s offensive explosion, going 4-for-4</a> with three RBIs in Boston’s 18-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the nightcap of a doubleheader sweep at Fenway Park. It marked the 14th four-hit game of his career and <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44566775/bregman-6-rbis-devers-4-hits-keys-blowout-win-vs-cardinals" rel="noopener">further cemented his bounce-back</a> stretch after an abysmal start to the season.</p><p>“He hasn’t been swinging and missing, he’s not chasing, and he’s staying in the zone,” manager Alex Cora said. “Little by little, the swing is back to normal. That was impressive.”</p><h2><b>Rafael Devers, Red Sox on an offensive tear</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Rafael-Devers-3.jpg"><figcaption>Eric Canha-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Devers’ first homer of the season came in Game 1 of the doubleheader — a 393-foot shot to the opposite field off Andre Pallante that brought the Fenway faithful to life. The blast snapped a 110-plate-appearance drought dating back to last August and seemed to mark the end of his early-season slump. That game also featured a bases-loaded walk from Devers in the ninth that helped force extra innings, setting the stage for Wilyer Abreu’s walk-off single off the Green Monster.</p><p>Through the first five games of 2025, Devers was 0-for-19 with a staggering 15 strikeouts — setting a dubious record for the most punchouts by any player in the first five games of a season. Now, he’s riding a five-game hitting streak and looking like the offensive force Boston has relied on for years.</p><p>“We know that he started the year slow, but we know that he’s going to have a monster year, as he always does,” Abreu said. “So we were very happy for him that he got the first one today.”</p><p>The Red Sox’s breakout wasn’t limited to Devers. Boston erupted for 22 hits in Sunday’s nightcap, with Alex Bregman driving in six runs and Abreu adding three more. Rookie right-hander Hunter Dobbins pitched five solid innings in his major league debut, earning the win in a game that quickly turned into a rout.</p><p>While Devers’ bounce-back has grabbed the headlines, it’s the overall balance in Boston’s lineup that’s turning heads. Bregman, acquired in the offseason, tied a career high with four hits. Abreu, meanwhile, is off to a scorching .522 start with three homers and nine RBIs <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/rafael-devers-hits-first-2025-home-run" rel="noopener">through his first seven games.</a></p><p>“We’re getting there,” Cora said. “This team is starting to click.” And with Devers finally locked in at the plate, the Red Sox are looking more dangerous by the day.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rafael Devers’ historic 180-degree turn after brutal start to Red Sox 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-early-season-superstar-helped-off-field-with-scary-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cardinals early-season superstar helped off field with scary injury');   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/Ivan-Herrera-cover.jpg"></figure><h1>Cardinals early-season superstar helped off field with scary injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-06T19:24:33-07:00">April 6th, 7:24pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-06T19:24:33-07:00">April 6th, 7:24pm</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">Boston Red Sox</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-catcher-makes-franchise-history-144-years-in-the-making">St. Louis Cardinals’ promising young catcher Iván Herrera</a> gave fans quite a scare on Sunday after suffering a lower-body injury that forced him to be <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44561584/cardinals-catcher-ivan-herrera-exits-knee-inflammation" rel="noopener">helped off the field</a> during Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox.</p><p>In the third inning, Herrera was hustling from first to third on a double down the left-field line by Nolan Arenado when he came up limping. After the next batter, Luken Baker, popped out to end the inning, Herrera was visibly unable to put any weight on his left leg. Manager Oliver Marmol and team trainers immediately rushed to his side and helped him off the field and into the clubhouse.</p><p>Later in the day, the Cardinals provided relief for a fanbase already holding its breath. The team announced Herrera had suffered inflammation in his left knee — no torn ligaments, no fractures. Just a tough blow, but not a season-ending one.</p><p>Manager Oliver Marmol shared more details with ESPN’s Buster Olney during the nightcap of the doubleheader, saying the team “avoided a bad situation” and that the injury “could have been a lot worse.” Still, the 24-year-old catcher is headed to the injured list, with Pedro Pagés stepping in behind the plate.</p><h2><b>Cardinals drop both games of the doubleheader to Red Sox, Ivan Herrara will miss time</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Ivan-Herrera.jpg"><figcaption>Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Herrera had been one of the early-season bright spots for the Cardinals. After spending the last few years as a top prospect and shadowing veterans like Yadier Molina and Willson Contreras, Herrera finally found his footing in 2025. He’s been a steady presence both offensively and defensively, showing off improved footwork and decision-making behind the plate — as evidenced in the second inning, when he lunged to his right to complete a force at home, keeping his foot on the plate in a smooth, heads-up play.</p><p>Offensively, Herrera’s hot bat has helped spark a surprising start to the Cardinals’ season. Alongside Nolan Arenado — who’s suddenly heating up again after a quiet offseason filled with trade rumors — Herrera was helping St. Louis stay competitive in a loaded National League.</p><p>Now, the Cardinals will have to manage without him, at least for a little while. While there’s still no definitive timetable for his return, early indications suggest a short stint on the IL rather than anything long-term.</p><p>The timing is tough, though. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/red-sox-news-trevor-story-celebration-home-run-cardinals">With the Cardinals dropping Game 1 of the doubleheader 5-4</a> and still looking to stabilize their pitching staff, losing a reliable backstop like Herrera hurts. His chemistry with the rotation, ability to control the running game, and consistent at-bats won’t be easy to replicate.</p><p>Still, considering how it looked in real time, the diagnosis of knee inflammation is about as positive as it could get. Now it’s just a matter of recovery and making sure Herrera gets back at full strength — because the Cardinals are going to need him if they want to keep this early-season momentum going.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cardinals early-season superstar helped off field with scary injury

<!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-st-louis-102-mph-closer-surprised-lack-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Even the Cardinals’ 102 mph closer was surprised at lack of 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/2025/04/Ryan-Helsley-with-STL-Cardinals-1.jpg"><figcaption>Jeff Curry-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Even the Cardinals’ 102 mph closer was surprised at lack of trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-06T13:00:11-07:00">April 6th, 1:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-06T13:00:11-07:00">April 6th, 1:00pm</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 off to a mediocre start this season. After an Opening Weekend sweep of the Minnesota Twins, they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-angels/angels-news-mike-trout-loves-cardinals-st-louis">dropped a series to the Los Angeles Angels</a> and the first game of three to the Boston Red Sox. Their 4-3 record should not be fooling anybody; they are starting to rebuild. This o<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/cardinals-news-nolan-arenado-focus-vetoing-astros-trade">ffseason, they tried to trade Nolan Arenado</a> but could not find the right suitor. Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley was on the trade block as well and spoke to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44533792/mlb-2025-st-louis-cardinals-rebuilding-transition-contending-nl-central" rel="noopener">about that experience</a>.</p><p>“I’ll be the first to admit, I thought I was gone for sure,” Helsley told Rogers. “I mean if it’s a reset, and this is my walk year, I thought I would be first to go. I was kind of surprised they brought me back.”</p><p>Helsley will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, which makes him a prime target for the trade deadline. The Cardinals should be active at the deadline, as there are other pending free agents on their team. This season also marks a transition from John Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom as their general manager. The former told Rogers why they are looking to rebuild.</p><p>“Our business model has changed. There’s less revenue on the TV side, we have less revenue on the ticket-sale side right now. We’re trying to make adjustments as best we can. The one lever to pull is payroll when you’re dealing with that.”</p><p>The Cardinals had 22 winning seasons from 2000-2022, with the only outlier coming in 2007. But after consecutive losing campaigns, the tide is changing in St Louis. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cardinals-chaim-bloom-set-to-lead-st-louis-rebuild">Bloom is coming in after a year of refurbishing their minor-league operations</a>. They hope that a new era of Cardinals baseball starts with Bloom after an active trade deadline. Helsley should be among the first go.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Even the Cardinals’ 102 mph closer was surprised at lack of 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/boston-red-sox/red-sox-news-alex-coras-truth-red-sox-lineup-13-runs-cardinals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Cora’s scary truth bomb on Red Sox lineup after 13 runs vs 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/2025/04/Alex-Bregman-cover.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Cora’s scary truth bomb on Red Sox lineup after 13 runs vs Cardinals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-05T00:09:19-07:00">April 5th, 12:09am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-05T00:09:19-07:00">April 5th, 12:09am</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">Boston Red Sox</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After a sluggish first week of the season, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/red-sox-news-trevor-story-celebration-home-run-cardinals">the Boston Red Sox lineup came alive in their home opener on Friday</a> — and manager Alex Cora wasn’t surprised. <a href="https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2025/04/a-week-into-the-season-red-sox-offense-finally-gets-unlocked-sean-mcadam.html" rel="noopener">He knows what this group is capable of.</a></p><p>“I think we have that type of offense,” Cora said postgame. “We have those three guys — Duran, Devers, Bregman — and any day, we can score quick. And when Casas and Trevor and the rest of them are swinging the bat the way they were, we become very dangerous.”</p><p>The Red Sox exploded for 13 runs and 16 hits in a 13-9 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park, their third straight victory. Boston scored five in the first inning, highlighted by back-to-back homers from Trevor Story and Wilyer Abreu. Every starter reached base, and eight of nine had at least one hit.</p><h2><b>Red Sox lineup is starting to heat up</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Rafael-Devers.jpg"><figcaption>Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The outburst was a stark contrast to last weekend in Texas, where <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/red-sox-news-alex-bregmans-message-home-opener-cardinals-fire-up-fans">the Sox went 4-for-35 with runners in scoring position</a> and managed just six total runs over three games. Even their first win in Baltimore was powered by Garrett Crochet’s shutout performance more than anything from the bats. But now? The offense looks like it’s found its footing.</p><p>“I love the fact that we didn’t stop [scoring],” Cora said. “It was a good offensive performance.”</p><p>Rafael Devers, fresh off a rough start to the season, reached base four times and added an RBI single in the seventh. Alex Bregman recorded two hits in his Fenway debut, and Story added four RBIs. Even the bottom of the order chipped in — Kristian Campbell, Carlos Narvaez, and Ceddanne Rafaela combined for three hits, five walks, four RBIs and four runs.</p><p>Bregman, who stayed optimistic through the team’s early struggles, said the last few games have shown what this lineup can do.</p><p>“It felt great to see the offense pass the torch,” he said. “Over the course of time, the cream always rises to the top. I feel like this lineup can do special things.” It may have taken nearly a week to get there, but the Red Sox finally look like the team they believed they’d be. And Cora’s warning to the rest of the league? This is just the beginning.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Cora’s scary truth bomb on Red Sox lineup after 13 runs vs 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/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

2025 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	HOLDS	SAVES
50	1.62	9	0.78	1	0

2025 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	HOLDS	SAVES
50	1.62	9	0.78	1	0

Matthew
Liberatore

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Matthew
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