St. Louis Cardinals third baseman reportedly blocked offseason trades to both the Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros. Despite that, the Cardinals are still actively trying to trade the veteran slugger months into the regular season.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that St. Louis has continued shopping Arenado around the league, but so far, there has been “no interest” from other teams.
At 34, Arenado is actually performing better than he did last year—boosting his on-base percentage by nearly 50 points and significantly increasing his slugging, leading to a roughly 60-point rise in OPS. Defensively, he remains elite, ranking in the 92nd percentile in Fielding Run Value and 95th percentile in Outs Above Average, according to Baseball Savant.
Still, none of that has changed the market. After Arenado invoked his no-trade clause to block moves to the Angels and Astros, the Cardinals targeted the Boston Red Sox. But Boston signed Alex Bregman instead, leaving St. Louis without a viable trade partner.
Although the New York Yankees were once seen as a potential destination, it’s since been reported that they, along with other clubs, have no interest in taking on Arenado’s contract.
The Cardinals have been looking to trade Arenado since November, yet he remains on the roster more than five months later. Unless St. Louis is willing to absorb a large chunk of his salary, it appears unlikely they’ll be able to find a suitable deal.