Why Cardinals Made The Right Decision On Nolan Arenado's Contract

It had to be done.

Sep 21, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) salutes the fans after he was ceremonially removed before the start of the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals finally put an end to the Nolan Arenado saga on Tuesday, trading him to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league right-hander Jack Martinez. The Cardinals also ate most of the remaining money on Arenado’s contract.

At that point, the return for Arenado wasn’t going to be much of anything. The return the Cardinals got is underwhelming at best, especially considering how much money they ate to get the deal done.

However, in the end, the Cardinals made the right decision to do this, not just to trade Arenado, but to include the amount of money that they did.

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This Trade Needed To Happen

Feb 24, 2025; Jupiter, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) looks on against the New York Mets during the fourth inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Ultimately, it had to be done. The Cardinals had been shopping Arenado pretty aggressively since last offseason, and they almost pulled off a trade to send him to the Houston Astros.

Arenado used his no-trade clause to block the deal, and he remained in St. Louis for 2025, hitting just .237 with 12 home runs and a .666 OPS and missing over a month due to a shoulder injury.

The 34-year-old even went as far as to say he felt he was getting in the way of younger players on the Cardinals roster, which is another reason why this trade needed to happen.

The time has come for younger players to get more opportunities. Top prospect JJ Wetherholt is on the way and could take over third base for St. Louis. If he proves to be as good as advertised, then the Cardinals may have ultimately made an upgrade by moving the eight-time All-Star.

Players like Thomas Saggese and Nolan Gorman can also get a full runway with Arenado gone, and the Cardinals can focus solely on their youth.

The only way this deal was going to work was if the Cardinals ate the majority of the contract, and still, they were able to at least get out from under some of the money that was still owed to him.

A little salary relief is better than none at all in this case, and the Cardinals were at least able to accomplish this. Now, they can fully focus on their rebuild and the future of the organization.

Arenado’s time in St. Louis ultimately ended in disappointment though, with the Cardinals missing the playoffs three of the five years he was there.

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