New York Yankees Remain Landing Spot for Likely to be Traded All-Star

The New York Yankees still have the time and the capital to make a move that would improve a position of need.

Feb 24, 2025; Jupiter, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) looks on against the New York Mets during the fourth inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

With spring training moving along for the New York Yankees, injuries continue to dominate the conversation heading into the season. 

It has not been an easy spring for the Yankees thus far on the injury front. While the team has some high expectations going into the new campaign, the depth of the roster is going to be tested early on. 

Currently, three projected players on the Opening Day roster will be starting the season on the injured list more than likely. While Giancarlo Stanton and Luis Gil definitely will be, DJ LeMahieu’s timeline is still uncertain. 

In terms of LeMahieu, he had a good chance either to be the starting third baseman or at least in some sort of platoon role with Oswaldo Cabrera. Now, it appears like it will either be Cabrera, or potentially him in a platoon with Oswald Peraza. 

With third base being an issue, the thought has always been that the best course of action for the team would be to bring in an external option. After the injury to LeMahieu, that makes even more sense now. 

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the Yankees being a potential landing spot for former All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado.  

Of the potential third base options this offseason, Arenado has been one of the more frequently mentioned players who could be traded, in part because his current team did shop him in the offseason. 

Due to the St. Louis Cardinals going into a bit of a rebuild and looking to shed payroll, Arenado doesn’t fit into their plans anymore. 

The 33-year-old has collected a lot of accolades in his career so far, with 10 Gold Gloves, eight All-Star appearances, and five Silver Sluggers. 

In 12 seasons, he has slashed .285/.342/.515, and has been widely regarded as one of the best third basemen in the game for a while. 

Even though he has been a great player, there was a significant drop in production in 2024. With his slugging percentage dipping under .400 for the first time in his career, father time might be starting to catch up to Arenado. 

With three years left on his deal, it’s easy to understand why the Cardinals would want to move on from him. However, they will have to eat a significant amount of that contract in order to do so. 

For the Yankees, even though Arenado might be a player on the decline, he is still a far better option than what they have currently. 

While it might be an ideal scenario, for a team that has expectations of winning this season, it might be the best one.