Cardinals Could Trade Nolan Arenado To Surprise AL West Team

The St. Louis Cardinals are expected to be a very busy team at the Winter Meetings, which began on Sunday in Orlando. They have a lot of players that could be traded elsewhere.

Their biggest trade chips are Brendan Donovan, Willson Contreras, JoJo Romero and Nolan Arenado. There are a lot of teams that will show interest in these players.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report predicts that St. Louis will offload all of their veterans, and that St. Louis will ultimately send Arenado to an American League West team that hasn’t done much in recent years, but might make sense as a fit.

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Could Nolan Arenado Land With Los Angeles Angels?

Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) throws to first base for an out against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

“The Angels could be an interested party, though, with reports from around Thanksgiving that they're looking to buy Anthony Rendon out of the final year of his deal before he retires—and with perhaps a reluctance to sign a Bregman or Murakami and risk making another nine-figure mistake at the hot corner,” Miller wrote.

The Angels would be an interesting fit for Arenado considering that they don’t look like a team that is going to contend in 2026, much like the Cardinals. Arenado would prefer to play for a team that has a chance to win a World Series title.

However, this would allow him a chance to come home to Southern California and be close to his family, and if the Cardinals can find a taker for Arenado, then they should ultimately make the move and offload some of his money.

The Cardinals managed to do this with Sonny Gray. They had to eat some money, but at least got out from under some of it, and they can do that with Arenado. That would be the best way to get a good return for him.

It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals navigate the Winter Meetings. Chaim Bloom has some very important work to do in the coming days and for the rest of the offseason.

The Cardinals need a reset and should focus on the future rather than building the best possible squad for 2026. Trading Arenado is a good way to give the team a reboot and get rid of any deadweight that’s still on the roster after 2025.

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