Cardinals Rightly Balked As Padres Pursued Nolan Arenado

It took a year for the St. Louis Cardinals to get a trade done involving third baseman Nolan Arenado. It took just one more day for another team in the sweepstakes to be revealed.

Arenado was firmly on the trade block since last offseason. Last year, Arenado reportedly gave the Cardinals a five-team approved trade list featuring the Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and the Houston Astros. The Astros and Red Sox showed interest, but nothing got done.

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The eight-time All-Star played out the 2025 season in St. Louis and was elite defensively, but took a step back offensively while battling with injuries. Now, his tenure with the team is over. Arenado was traded to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. On Wednesday, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that a team from his original approved trade list was hot on his trail: the Padres.

The Padres were interested in Nolan Arenado

Jul 22, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) on deck in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

"Padres wanted Arenado at 1B," Rosenthal wrote. "The San Diego Padres were the team besides the Arizona Diamondbacks that mounted the heaviest pursuit of Nolan Arenado, people briefed on the discussions said. With Manny Machado entrenched at third, the Padres intended Arenado to play first base. The holdup, according to those briefed on the talks, was that the Padres were unwilling to take on as much of Arenado’s salary as the D-Backs. And it’s not as if the D-Backs took on a whole lot – the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to pay $31 million of Arenado’s remaining $42 million over the next two years while receiving minor-league right-hander Jack Martinez in return.

"In the final two years of Arenado’s contract, the D-Backs owe him $1 million less than the Chicago White Sox gave free-agent right-hander Anthony Kay for the same term. Kay spent the past two seasons in Japan...The Padres’ payroll concerns are well-documented. Perhaps they only wanted Arenado if they could get him for something close to the minimum salary, enabling them to remain flexible for other pursuits. Arenado, after all, would have been changing positions. And numerous first basemen are still available in free agency."

At the end of the day, the Cardinals were able to get a deal over the finish line with a team that Arenado approved of and actually paid less money than they would've if a a deal got done with San Diego, per Rosenthal.

While this is the case, it's somewhat surprising to see stories like this come out. Arenado had a tough season offensively in 2025, but it's not as if he is a slouch. He's one of the best overall third basemen in MLB history. He was very good defensively in 2025 and actually looked like he was bouncing back offensively before jamming his finger on June 29th.

Arenado had 10 home runs, 41 RBIs, and was slashing .249/.309/.399 in 79 games before the injury. After that, he slashed .200/.226/.310 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 28 games played. The fact that $11 million over two seasons for Arenado was a sticking point for San Diego, per Rosenthal, is surprising. The Diamondbacks very well could have a steal on their hands.

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