What Led Cardinals, Diamondbacks To Nolan Arenado Trade

The St. Louis Cardinals were fortunate to have Nolan Arenado as a member of the organization over the last five seasons, but both sides are moving.

St. Louis traded the eight-time All-Star and a boatload of cash to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jack Martinez. This move is little more than a way to open up third base for the franchise and save a bit of cash in the long run. Martinez was selected in the eighth round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Diamondbacks hasn't made his professional debut yet.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Jack Martinez was the D-Backs 8th round pick out of Arizona State last season he threw 77.1 innings (15 starts) to a 5.47 ERA with 110 strikeouts and only 33 walks.

He features a mid 90s fastball along with a slider and changeup from a weird falling down type of delivery

The… pic.twitter.com/Dm4otvIVf3
— Redbird Farmhands (@RedbirdFarmhand) January 13, 2026

The Cardinals traded Nolan Arenado

Sep 20, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) hits a one run single against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

If Martinez ends up giving the Cardinals something in the big leagues at some point, great. But this deal is more about what St. Louis gave up than what it received. It took a year to get a deal over the finish line and signed off on by Arenado. It took concessions from both sides. But one intriguing nugget that came out on Tuesday was Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix's John Gambadoro shared on X that "several" teams had at least some interest in Arenado but he wanted to go to Arizona.

"There were several teams that were interested in acquiring Arenado, but he has a full no-trade clause, and he wanted to be a Diamondback. So he waived the no-trade to come here."

Clearly, he wanted to go to Arizona as he waived his no-trade clause to get a deal done. Last year, he had the Houston Astros on his approved trade list but closed the door on a move.

The fact that Gambadoro said "several" teams were interested is at least somewhat surprising because the noise around Arenado specifically had been very quiet recently. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said on Monday that "not much" had changed in the Arenado market and the Cardinals were still looking around.

The Cardinals found what they were looking for and now third base is wide open. It wasn't easy, but Chaim Bloom got a deal to the finish line.

More MLB: Cardinals' Steep Cost In Nolan Arenado-Diamondbacks Deal Explained