A few weeks ago, the report came out indicating the St. Louis Cardinals would be looking to trade their starting third baseman and perennial Gold Glover, Nolan Arenado. Arenado still has over $50 million left on his deal, so moving him would be tough.
To make matters worse, Arenado has a no-trade clause in his contract, so he can pick and choose where he's traded if he wants to be traded at all.
The market for Arenado was reportedly brought down to six teams, the Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and San Diego Padres.
After a few weeks of shopping the star infielder, it's looking more and more likely the Cardinals will be forced to keep him heading into 2025.
Looking at the six teams Arenado has cleared a trade to, the real list seems to be quite smaller.
The Red Sox have Rafael Devers at third base. The only way they would have traded for Arenado is if they traded away first baseman Triston Casas and moved Devers over to first base. After signing Walker Buehler, Casas, who likely would have been the centerpiece of a trade for a starting pitcher, seems to be staying in Boston.
It's an almost identical situation in Philadelphia. The Phillies floated the idea of trading All-Star Alec Bohm, which likely would have helped them net a star pitcher. But they acquired Jesús Luzardo without moving Bohm, so he's likely to remain a Phillie.
The Dodgers seemingly have no interest, unless Arenado lands in their lap for as close to free as possible. The Cardinals would need to be paying almost his entire contract and at that point, is it even worth it for St. Louis?
The Padres have stars around the infield, so it's been tough to see them as a realistic option. The Mets could emerge as the perfect suitors if they happen to miss out on Pete Alonso. The Angels could also swing a trade for Arenado.
Either way, the third baseman's market looks severely depleted right now. He's already reportedly axed a trade to the Houston Astros while the New York Yankees fell short of meeting the Cardinals' demands.
Will anybody trade for Arenado this winter?
More MLB: Dodgers Could Land $50 Million Star In Huge Trade To Replace Teoscar Hernández
.jpg?mbid=social_retweet)
English (US) ·