Cardinals Eyeing Trade Involving 8-Time All-Star With No Guarantees Yet

Keep an eye on the Cardinals over the next few weeks

Sep 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) hits an RBI single off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp (65) during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

With the Winter Meetings about to kick off, this would be the time to watch the St. Louis Cardinals closely,

There have been a lot of rumors and speculation about the organization this offseason, but nothing franchise-altering has happened. The Cardinals realistically could keep its current roster intact and head into the 2025 season. The Cardinals surely could make changes with plenty of trades speculated.

Star third baseman Nolan Arenado is going to be the player to watch the most over the next few weeks. He has three years left on his deal with St. Louis and has been one of the most talked-about potential trade chips in all of baseball.

The Athletic's Katie Woo reported that the Cardinals are "actively exploring" a deal involving Arenado, but noted that nothing is guaranteed at this point.

"But one thing (John Mozeliak) wants to make clear is that next year’s reset is not a full-fledged rebuild," Woo said. "In fact, Mozeliak’s desire to remain competitive indicates that at least a couple of players projected to be top trade candidates might not be on the block after all. While the Cardinals are actively exploring Arenado’s trade market and plan to have better clarity regarding the third baseman’s future, come the Winter Meetings, no such deal is guaranteed."

Right when the offseason kicked off, there was chatter about pretty much every veteran on the roster being available. It seems like that may not be the case and the Cardinals aren't even guaranteed to trade Arenado.

The Cardinals won 83 games last season and while they didn't make the playoffs, they did show big improvement from the 2023 season. Maybe it makes sense to run it back with the current roster for one more year before Chaim Bloom takes over the president of baseball operations role.

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