Detroit Tigers Land Nolan Arenado in Proposed Trade With St. Louis Cardinals
The Detroit Tigers are getting ready to head into the Winter Meetings with the goal of improving their team.
It was a great run in the second half of the campaign for the Tigers last year. They went on to snap a long postseason drought and even won the American League Wild Card Round against the Houston Astros.
While there is a lot of young talent on the team, Detroit moved up their timeline with the success that they had in 2024. Now, they will be hoping to improve a team that has proven to be a playoff contender.
With the Winter Meetings coming up, there are a few areas that the Tigers will likely try to improve. Recently. Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report proposed a trade that would send St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado to Detroit.
“The contract for Arenado—even if he's not a superstar anymore—really isn't that bad, particularly if the Cardinals would be willing to eat some money. Arenado may prefer to go to a more established contender, but his options may be limited. If it comes down to returning to the Cardinals—who are taking a step back in 2025—or waiving his no-trade clause to go to the Tigers, Detroit offers a more immediate path to winning.”
Due to the Cardinals looking to shed salary and head into a bit of a rebuild, moving their All-Star third baseman seems likely this offseason.
While he has a massive contract, the tail end of it isn’t too bad, at $52 million over the next three seasons, with the Colorado Rockies still on the hook for some of it.
In terms of a fit for the Tigers, Arenado is a great one. Third base was a position of need coming into the offseason, and the slugger is one of the best defensive third basemen in the game. While it does seem like his offensive production is going down based on the last couple of seasons, he would still be an upgrade to a lineup that needs players who can knock in runs.
Detroit has prospects to make deals this offseason, but they likely wouldn’t have to give up anything substantial if they are willing to take on the contract. As a team that is now in a win-now mode, adding a veteran like Arenado who has a ton of experience makes a lot of sense.
Nick Ziegler is an alumnus of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. He has been working in sports media covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL for nearly a decade with various publications online. With his free time, Nick enjoys being at the Jersey Shore with his wife, daughter, and their golden retriever. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NickZiegler20.