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As the trade rumors around St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado continue to heighten in the offseason, it seems likely to happen as the star player looks to make some changes. While some people may say that the Cardinals should not trade Arenado, the team seems to head into a reset per the latest reporting from Katie Woo of The Athletic.
One of the changes Arenado is willing to commit to doing as part of another team trading for him is that besides playing solely third base, he would also play first base “to create roster flexibility.”
“When the St. Louis Cardinals acquired Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies in February 2021, he was overjoyed to finally join a consistent winner,” Woo wrote on the situation with Arenado. “Now, as the Cardinals shift directions and contemplate trading Arenado, the 10-time Gold Glove-winning third baseman is willing to play first base, or at least less at third, to create roster flexibility for a potential new team, league sources briefed on his situation say.”
“The Cardinals are in an unconventional offseason, at least for their standards,” Woo continued. “For the first time in long-time president of baseball operations John Mozeliak’s 17-year tenure, the Cardinals are taking a step back and will use the 2025 season as an organizational reset.”
There is expressed interest in Cardinals' Nolan Arenado
The conversation around trading Arenado has reportedly been around since the end of last season, as St. Louis had an 83-79 record, which put them second in the NL Central. There have been a “few teams” that could be interested, as both the star and executive John Mozeliak are mutually open to a trade.
“The Cardinals have been exploring Arenado’s potential trade market for weeks,” Woo wrote. “Those conversations, preliminary in nature, have yet to yield any substantive progress. Still, a few teams have expressed initial interest, per a league source. As the winter meetings approach, talks are likely to intensify, and there is a growing sense throughout the industry that Arenado will be on the move.”
“The plan to trade Arenado dates to the end of the season,” Woo continued. “With a change in the organization’s operations on the horizon, Mozeliak met with Arenado in late September and explained the team’s strategy was shifting. According to multiple league sources, Arenado and Mozeliak were open to the possibility of a potential trade this winter. Arenado did not demand a trade but was agreeable to the idea when approached by Mozeliak.”
Cardinals' Nolan Arenado prefers to go to contending team
If the Cardinals were to trade Arenado, the third baseman would prefer it to be for a contending team as it would even be beneficial since he would “waive his no-trade clause.”
“Arenado will turn 34 in April and his offensive decline over the past two seasons concerns some in the industry, though his defense remains superior,” Woo wrote. “Per multiple league sources, he will also only waive his no-trade clause for an organization set up to contend for multiple seasons. This should hardly come as a surprise, as Arenado has played in just eight postseason games in his career and has been very candid about his desire to play meaningful baseball in October.”
Arenado had a .272 batting average with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs in 2024.
