Cardinals $260 Million Star Listed Among 'Best MLB Trade Chips' For 2025 Season

The St. Louis Cardinals are off to an impressive start with their 2025 campaign but several challenging decisions await the club's front office ahead of this summer's trade deadline.

There's uncertainty surrounding St. Louis ' summer plans after failing to significantly reduce payroll this past offseason through the trade market to help with the Cardinals' rebuilding efforts.

Several remaining veterans on the Cardinals' roster could be shopped before the July 31st deadline but one in particular might be among the league's most viable trade chips.

"(Nolan) Arenado is the big one, though and the one that was almost traded a bunch of different times this offseason," Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller wrote Friday morning after listing Arenado as the second-best trade chip for the 2025 season. "The 10-time Gold Glove, eight-time All-Star, six-time Platinum Glove and five-time Silver Slugger third baseman is owed $21 million this season, $16M in 2026 and $15M in 2027. And though he turns 34 later this month, Arenado still has something left in the tank, opening the season on a six-game hitting streak with a 1.109 OPS."

The remainder of Arenado's eight-year, $260 million contract with the Colorado Rockies and Cardinals partially prevented him from being traded this past winter -- logging a mediocre .272/.325/.394 slash line with only 16 home runs and 71 RBIs in 152 games played for St. Louis last year also damaged his chances of moving to a new team over the offseason.

"No one in their right mind expects him to continue hitting like that, but if he can bounce back even a little bit from what was just about a career-worst campaign in 2024, there would be quite a few interested parties here," Miller continued. "And perhaps by this summer, he'll be a little more willing to waive his full no-trade clause, after that seemed to cause several hiccups over the winter."

The Cardinals could've traded Arenado to the Houston Astros over the winter but the superstar third baseman rejected the deal, which proved to be his only legitimate opportunity to leave St. Louis ahead of the 2025 season.

For now, Arenado will look to revive his career with the Cardinals and reevaluate his trade options this summer. If the California native continues to have an impressive start to his 2025 campaign and St. Louis is far from playoff contention shortly before July 31st, perhaps Nado will end the season with a new ball club.

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