This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter and subsequently edited to accommodate breaking news. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

What figured to be a busy offseason for a Cardinals franchise again trying to replace Albert Pujols and in the market for a catcher for the first time in two decades following the retirement of Yadier Molina got a little simpler on Sunday.

That's because superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado, who had the ability to opt out and become a free agent, has declined that option. Arenado's deal runs through 2027, and with no more opt-outs left in the contract, he will be sticking around for quite a while.

This isn't to say there aren't loose ends to tie up. The Cardinals recently learned that bench coach Skip Schumaker is leaving to become the Marlins' manager, and hitting coach Jeff Albert and pitching coach Mike Maddux have chosen not to return.

With all that in mind, and with Arenado now taken care of, here are the top four questions facing the organization this offseason.

1. How will the Cardinals fill their empty coaching positions?
Mozeliak said he was prepared to offer contracts to Maddux and Albert, but both expressed a desire to leave. Maddux, who is currently on a golfing trip in Europe, wanted to downshift into a slower pace, while Albert felt he was too often blamed for the team’s hitting struggles. Pitching strategist Dusty Blake is a favorite to be the next pitching coach because of his heavy lean toward analytics, and internal candidates Turner Ward, Ryan Ludwick, Russ Steinhorn, Tyger Pederson and Bernard Gilkey could be the next hitting coach. Don’t rule out Matt Holliday as a strong candidate for the bench coach or hitting coach positions.

2. Can the Cardinals close the massive payroll gap in the NL?
The good news: By virtue of the 3.3 million people who packed into Busch Stadium in 2022, the team’s payroll will jump several millions of dollars. The bad news: That still leaves the Cards -- whose '22 payroll ranked 12th in MLB at $170 million -- far behind big spenders such as the Mets ($282 million), Dodgers ($275 million) and Phillies ($255 million). Could the actions of the Padres (who added Juan Soto and Josh Hader) and the Phillies (Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber) sway the Redbirds to approach $200 million?

3. Could top prospects Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn and Gordon Graceffo play their way onto the Opening Day roster?
Mozeliak said any free agency move will be done while considering the young talent pushing its way to the Majors. At the top of that list is the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Walker, who has continued to impress with more stellar play in the Arizona Fall League. If he has a Spring Training like Pujols did in 2001, he could be the starting right fielder on Opening Day.

4. What should the organization do at catcher?
Mozeliak made it clear that while Andrew Knizner had a decent season and Ivan Herrera has potential, the team needs a frontline catcher it can depend on defensively and to handle the staff. Is that Willson Contreras? Not likely. Could a trade for Oakland’s Sean Murphy be in the works? Possibly. How about signing Tucker Barnhart or Christian Vázquez? That’s most likely, but they won’t come cheap.