Nolan Arenado, a third baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals, is among the most sought-after trade candidates of the entire Major League Baseball offseason.
Arenado, who was an eight-time All-Star and ten-time Gold Glover earlier in his career, has drastically diminished at age 34. After coming to St. Louis in a trade with the Colorado Rockies in 2021, he had some outstanding seasons, but as the Cardinals embark on a rebuild, he is an albatross on the salary.
The Cardinals still need to find a place to trade Arenado, even if it felt like a farewell when he played his final games at Busch Stadium in September. This should be simpler than last offseason, when the star used his no-trade clause to stop a move to the Houston Astros.
Arenado predicted to be traded to Phillies
Mike Axisa of CBS Sports projected on Wednesday that Arenado would be moved to the Philadelphia Phillies, one of the Cardinals’ National League rivals. The Phillies have a one-year contract with starter Alec Bohm and may be seeking to add some fresh talent.
“The Cardinals did a whole farewell thing for Arenado’s final home game and Phillies (president of baseball operations) Dave Dombrowski strikes me as the type to go after the fiery veteran,” Axisa stated.
“I’m not saying the Phillies will offer St. Louis a huge package of prospects or take on the whole $32 million that the Cardinals still owed Arenado. Arenado will play third base for the Cardinals in 2026 and 2027, but it will take a lot of money and the return of two or three Grade C prospects.
Over the past two years, Arenado hasn’t been as effective offensively as Bohm. However, his defense is still superior to Bohm’s at this point, and Citizens Bank Park would be a nice site for him to regain some of his pull strength.
Next summer, the Cardinals will host the Phillies on August 10–12 before visiting Philadelphia the following weekend. Will Arenado be present?