Could New York Mets land this elite infielder in offseason trade?

There's a world where the Mets have one of baseball's best defenders on their 2026 Opening Day roster.

Jul 18, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third base Nolan Arenado (28) looks on in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

There was a lot of trade interest in St. Louis Cardinals infielder and 10-time Gold Glove award winner Nolan Arenado during the last offseason. However, Arenado had a full no-trade clause, and he made it clear that he would use this no-trade clause if the club tried to trade him away to all but a few teams (which did not include the New York Mets).

This prompted the Cardinals to give up on the idea of trading him before the 2025 season. The team went on to produce a 78-84 record, which kept them out of the playoffs. And the 34-year-old Arenado hit an uninspired .237 with a .666 OPS.

Read more: Mets should aggressively pursue star third baseman in offseason

In hindsight, Arenado's promise to exercise his no-trade clause didn't work out for him or for the Cardinals. He spent an entire year on a non-competitive team; his trade value has diminished, and he's now in the same position as he was one year prior.

But this time, he's more open to getting traded. This was made clear when he said, “I think I have to be [willing to expand his list of teams he’d waive his no-trade clause for],” in a September interview with The Athletic. 

Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) runs home after his solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Why Mets Could (and Might) Trade For Nolan Arenado

While third base doesn't seem like an obvious place New York could improve this winter (given their surplus of young, capable players there, like Brett Baty and Mark Vientos), these two players could be trade pieces themselves, which would make a deal for Arenado more appealing.

Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer sees a world where Arenado could be traded to the Mets, and he explained why in an October 6 article. Rymer crafted a trade proposal for this to happen as, "New York Mets get 3B Nolan Arenado; St. Louis Cardinals get LHP Sean Manaea, RHP Jonathan Pintaro, cash".

In explaining why this makes sense for the Mets, Rymer noted that New York's defense was one of the 10 worst in baseball this year, and Arenado is arguably the greatest defender of this century.

Nolan Arenado’s time in St. Louis 2021–2025:
-.266 AVG, 116 HR, 421 RBI, 710 hits
-3 All-Star selections
-2 Platinum Gloves
-Led the NL in WAR in 2022

He leaves as one of the best defenders ever to wear the Birds on the Bat. pic.twitter.com/4Ge88iZDTU

— SleeperSTLCards (@SleeperSTL) September 22, 2025

As for why it makes sense for St. Louis, it would allow them to get rid of Arenado's large contract (he's owed $42 million through 2027). They could then flip Manaea (owed $50 million through 2027) to another team that could use a southpaw starter and get the Cardinals more prospects to rebuild around.

While Pintaro isn't seen as one of the Mets' best prospects, he does have a solid repertoire that could be of interest to the Cardinals' front office.

Could Arenado be playing in Queens by the start of next season? The chances are a lot better than they were a year ago.