Cardinals' Steep Cost In Nolan Arenado-Diamondbacks Deal Explained

The St. Louis Cardinals showed earlier in the offseason that they were more willing to include cash to get trades done and they certainly weren't messing around.

St. Louis reportedly included $20 million in the deal with the Boston Red Sox centered around Sonny Gray. The Cardinals followed and reportedly included $8 million in the deal that sent Willson Contreras to Boston.

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Now, the Cardinals are sending Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks and the price tag isn't cheap. The Cardinals officially announced the deal on X and noted that the organization is receiving right-handed pitcher Jack Martinez in exchange for Arenado and cash considerations.

We have completed the following trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks: pic.twitter.com/rxvtxmiyaF
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) January 13, 2026

The Nolan Arenado saga is over

Sep 15, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) throws out Cincinnati Reds third baseman Santiago Espinal (not pictured) at first base in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic/azcentral sports reported that the Diamondbacks will be paying $11 million of the remaining $42 million on Arenado's deal. That would leave $31 million for St. Louis. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat pointed out that the Colorado Rockies still owe $5 million, meaning the Cardinals are "on the hook" for $26 million.

"AZ paying 11 total, Rockies still owe 5," Jones wrote on X. "That leaves the Cardinals on the hook for $26 million on Arenado, who does have some modest deferrals leftover from his pay schedule with Colorado."

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand pointed out that the "present-day impact" will be a bit less because the Cardinals will pay $6 million in deferred money, which doesn't begin until 2040.

"The present-day impact for the Cardinals will actually be less than $31 million, per source, as St. Louis will pay out the $6 million in deferred money owed to Arenado, which isn’t payable until 2040-2041," Feinsand wrote.

If this sounds confusing to you, it's because it is. Part of the reason why there were such complications in the Arenado saga was because of the cash on his deal over the last year, mixed with a no-trade clause and a step back offensively.

To sum up, the Cardinals received a prospect in return for the eight-time All-Star and a boatload of cash. Arizona is paying just $11 million over the next two seasons for the future Hall of Famer. At the end of the day, the important thing was offloading some of the cash at least and opening up third base. The Cardinals have done that.

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