Cody Snavely
Well, with the calendar finally flipping to December, the Major League Baseball hot stove is officially lit, and multiple rumors about interested players and teams have hit social media over the last several weeks.
One player that has been heavily rumored to be on the trade block is St. Louis Cardinals veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado.
Unsurprisingly, the Cardinals are looking to sell off a player such as Nolan Arenado. For starters, the organization has been a shell of itself for the last two seasons, missing back-to-back postseasons, including suffering an embarrassing ninety-one loss season in 2023.
When the Cardinals brought in Arenado via trade back during the 2021 offseason, it was a clear indicator that the Red Birds were going “all in” not just for the National League Central but the National League as a whole, not making a World Series appearance since the 2011 season.
While the Cardinals had regular season success to start making the postseason in 2021 and 2022, they could not break through the National League Wild Card round, losing in walk-off fashion to the Los Angeles Dodgers and losing to the Philadelphia Phillies the year after that.
Entering this offseason, the Cardinals are prepared to essentially clean house, with this being the last year under long-time President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak as the team transitions to newly hired Chaim Bloom.
That said, multiple teams have shown interest in the former all-star and ten-time Gold Glove Award winner this winter, including the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, according to Yankees beat writer Randy Miller.
“One guy that could be a possibility [for the Yankees] is Arenado from St. Louis,” Miller said on WFAN Radio on Saturday. “I think the Cardinals are trying to trade him, St. Louis would have to pick up some of the money and maybe the Yankees could have a deal where they trade some prospects. … I keep hearing it’s going to be either the Yankees or the Dodgers — I think he’s a West Coast guy that would prefer to go to the Dodgers and I think the Dodgers want him.”
The Dodgers have long been connected with the former Colorado Rockies third baseman, whether it was trying to trade for him when Arenado was in the National League West or during the 2023 season when the Cardinals and Dodgers had preliminary talks about the idea.
Arenado, 33, is coming off one of the worst offensive seasons of his career, where the righty hit .272/.325/.394 with a .719 OPS and 101 OPS+. Arenado is also set to receive $52 million in the final three years of his contract, along with $44 million in deferred payments from 2025 to 2041.
With the contract and the dollars owed, a huge issue for teams inquiring about a trade, the Cardinals would have to eat a good bit of the remaining salary to get a decent package in return.
The Dodgers’ current infield is in a bit of a logjam, with Mookie Betts now transitioning back to the infield full-time, according to Dodgers General Manager Brandon Gomes. Max Muncy will play third base at least for another year ($10 million club option for 2026), Miguel Rojas and Tommy Edman will play shortstop, and Freddie Freeman will play first base.
Unless the Dodgers plan on majorly overhauling the current infield or perhaps trading Max Muncy in the deal, I don’t see a trade happening, but with the Dodgers, you never know.
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