Inside The Cardinals

MLB Columnist Reveals Cardinals 'Best Hope' Of Finding Trade Spot For Nolan Arenado

St. Louis hasn't yet ruled out a deal for the fan favorite
Nate Hagerty|
Sep 25, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third base Nolan Arenado (28) reacts in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Sep 25, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third base Nolan Arenado (28) reacts in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

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The St. Louis Cardinals declared that their top priority this offseason was to find a suitable trade destination for superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado.

Unfortunately, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has failed to move the 10-time Gold Glove defender. With Opening Day less than three weeks away, it's growing more likely that Arenado isn't going anywhere.

Although the odds are stacked against Arenado being dealt anytime soon, an American League West club is still being mentioned as a possible trade partner for St. Louis.

"Arenado only failed to approve the (Houston) Astros — he didn’t actually decline, time just ran out in the 48-hour window — because Houston traded star Kyle Tucker," New York Post's Jon Heyman wrote Thursday. "So Arenado 'got a little bit freaked out' about what was going on there, a friend said. Since nothing else materialized — there were talks with Boston (Red Sox) in case Alex Bregman went elsewhere — the Cardinals and Astros recently re-engaged in case Arenado would accept now. That may still be the best hope. But there doesn’t appear to be anything imminent there, either."

The 10-time Gold Glove defender's contract includes a full no-trade clause. Arenado's list of teams he'd approve of being moved to includes the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Red Sox.

Despite being a potential future Hall of Fame candidate, the Red Sox appeared to be the only team on Arenado's wish list that showed genuine interest in trading for him.

Not much is known about Arenado's current status regarding a possible trade to the Astros. The five-time Silver Slugger seems comfortable returning to St. Louis this season, so it's tough to imagine him moving to Houston in desperation of leaving the rebuilding Cardinals franchise.

More MLB: Ex-Cardinals $74 Million Gold Glover Poised To Make St. Louis Regret Trading Him

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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