ESPN Insider Outlines Key Reason Why Red Sox-Nolan Arenado Trade Is Realistic

Here we go again...

May 14, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) reacts to his two run home run during the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox, it appears, are caught in a constant back-and-forth with two right-handed hitting former All-Stars.

All offseason, the Red Sox have known righty hitting would be a primary objective, especially once Tyler O'Neill left for the Baltimore Orioles in free agency. And the same two names have continuously come up as the most likely targets.

Unfortunately, as Red Sox fans are well aware, "interest" does not equate to a move being made, hence why Spring Training has almost arrived and the Red Sox have neither signed Alex Bregman nor traded for Nolan Arenado.

The Arenado rumors have begun flying again in the past 24 hours, thanks in part to a report from MLB Network's Jon Morosi that the Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals had re-engaged recently in discussions involving the eight-time All-Star third baseman.

On Wednesday, ESPN insider Buster Olney seemed to confirm the plausibility of an Arenado-Red Sox trade with a post on X (formerly Twitter) that included anecdotes from some of Arenado's unnamed friends.

"Given that Nolan Arenado vetoed the potential deal to the Astros, what some of his friends say is important: They think he would really like the idea of going to the Red Sox, if Boston and the Cardinals work out terms," Olney wrote. "Arenado's current mindset: 'Highly, highly motivated."

A motivated Arenado would be a good sign for the Red Sox, if they were to acquire him, and one would hope that moving to Fenway Park would help revive his struggling bat (.719 OPS a season ago).

But there are lots of other moving parts for the Red Sox to sort out. Does Rafael Devers move to first base or designated hitter? Are Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida both still on the team, or is one traded? How the Red Sox answer those questions would be just as important as the trade itself.

And, of course, there's the issue of how much of Arenado's contract the Red Sox are assuming over the final three years, plus what goes back to St. Louis in the deal. But if there's any momentum building, it will hopefully start to draw a stagnant offseason towards the finish line.

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