ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Thursday marks the deadline for MLB clubs like the St. Louis Cardinals to agree on a deal with players who are arbitration-eligible before either the player or team file for arbitration.
For the Cardinals, they have six players who are arbitration-eligible: relievers John King and JoJo Romero, pitcher Andre Pallante, outfielder Lars Nootbaar utility player Brendan Donovan, and most notably, closer Ryan Helsley.
Unlike last year, which saw the Cardinals not going to arbitration with anyone, there is potential the Cardinals will head to arbitration with three players.
On Thursday afternoon, the Cardinals announced that they were unable to agree to deals with Pallante, Nootbaar and Donovan ahead of the deadline.
The Athletic's Katie Woo were among those to initially repor the Cardinals were unable to agree to deals with Pallante and Nootbaar ahead of the deadline.
According to MLB Trade Rumors, they projected Nootbaar and Pallante, who were both in the first years of arbitration, would receive $2.5 and $2.3 million, respectively. Donovan, also in his first year, was projected to receive $3.6 million
Meanwhile, the Cardinals were able to agree to a deal with Helsley, with Fansided reporter Robert Murray first reporting Helsley received a one-year deal worth $8.2 million. MLB Trade Rumors projected Helsley would receive $6.9 million.
The Cardinals later announced they were able to agree to deals with King and Romero.
As a reminder, the Cardinals can still negotiate a deal with Nootbaar, Donovan and Pallante until the hearings, which are usually scheduled in February. But the Cardinals have a file-and-trial approach when it comes to arbitration, meaning unless a multi-year contract is in the works, an arbitration hearing is the likely route.
According to Cardinals writer for MLB.com John Denton, the Cardinals did discuss a multi-year deal with Donovan and Nootbaar, but it didn't seem like an agreement would be reached by the deadline.
Last year, the Cardinals agreed to a two-year deal with Tommy Edman, leading to both parties avoiding arbitration despite both parties not being able to agree to a deal by the filing deadline.