MLB Insider Reveals 8-Time All-Star Shut Down Angels Trade This Offseason

The St. Louis Cardinals want to trade eight-time All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado.

Trading him would cut the Cardinals’ payroll and give the 13-season MLB veteran a chance to win his first World Series title.

“The Cardinals still want to move him,” MLB insider Bob Nightengale said to Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain. “I do think that Arenado will get moved at some point.”

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Arenado has approximately three years and $64 million remaining in his contract, which includes a full no-trade clause. Therefore, Arenado can reject any trade the Cardinals suggest.

And he has already exercised this right, rejecting a trade to the Houston Astros in December.

Nightengale revealed that Arenado also denied a trade to the Los Angeles Angels, despite reportedly wanting to move back to the West Coast.

“If something ever happened to (Max) Muncy or something like that, Arenado would do cartwheels to get to L.A., his hometown," Nightengale said. "He could have gone to Houston, turned that down. Could have gone to the Angels, turned that down, too.”

Arenado was born in Newport Beach, California, and was drafted out of El Toro High School in Lake Forest, California. Angel Stadium was practically in Arenado’s backyard growing up, but the 34-year-old wants to win.

The Angels’ 10-year absence from the postseason is the longest playoff drought in MLB.

Future Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Trout has spent his entire 15-season career with the Angels and has only ever played in three playoff games. So, it is not surprising that Arenado would avoid joining the Angels.

“The talks with the Angels weren’t that advanced, but he shut that down in a hurry," Nightengale said. "He said, ‘Hey, I want to win right now. I don’t want to wait a few years.’”

The Angels are down to 12-15 after getting swept by the Minnesota Twins. They also tend to lose steam as the season progresses, and if their pattern holds, Los Angeles could miss a 10th consecutive postseason.

And Arenado does not want to be there to see it happen.

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