Insider Claims Interested Teams Like 'What They're Seeing From' Cardinals Slugger

The St. Louis Cardinals have plenty of baseball left to play before the July 31st trade deadline but other clubs are monitoring several players.

For instance, Cardinals 2024 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year, Ryan Helsley, is a potential top trade candidate for St. Louis. The 30-year-old flamethrower will become a free agent for the first time in his career this winter and with the franchise rebuilding, he could be dealt.

Depending on how the rest of the first half of 2025 pans out for the Cardinals, another St. Louis fan favorite could end the season with a new team.

"It wasn't for lack of trying but the Cardinals were just never able to find a taker for Nolan Arenado over the winter," Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer wrote Wednesday morning when suggesting that Arenado's trade stock is up. "If interested parties were simply spooked, well, that is fair. He is owed $74 million through 2027—$10 million of which is on the Colorado Rockies—and he was only a 2-ish WAR player across 2023 and 2024. At his age, a decline like that ought to be irreversible.
That wouldn't seem to be the case now, and it is genuinely nice to see Arenado with 13 walks against just five strikeouts. That's not normally his jam, particularly where the free passes are concerned."

Arenado is having a solid start to his 2025 offensive campaign after enduring his career-worst season at the plate in 2024. This year, the five-time Silver Slugger is batting .268 with 22 hits, nine extra-base hits including two home runs, 10 RBIs and a .802 OPS across 22 games for the Cardinals.

"Still, one is inclined to believe third base-needy teams are liking what they're seeing from Arenado on offense so far," Rymer continued. "And to nobody's surprise, he's still rating well defensively with plus-three Outs Above Average already. Stock: Up"

Trying to move Arenado over the offseason was difficult for the Cardinals because of the 10-time Gold Glove defender's full no-trade clause, which limited St. Louis' front office to a select handful of teams to choose from.

If the Cardinals are well out of playoff contention before the trade deadline, it's possible they'll look to deal Arenado, clearing third base for rising star Nolan Gorman. Still, finding an agreeable destination for Nado could be difficult, so it's tough to predict where he'll finish his 2025 season.

More MLB: Cardinals Foolish Trade Blunder Could Help Hated Cubs Win 2025 NL Central Title