Trade talks are heating up for Star St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado. A combination of the Juan Soto blockbuster deal with the New York Mets and the start of the MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas, have pushed the talks forward.
Trade Talks Heating Up For Star Third Baseman
Cards Front Office ‘Intends to Try
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak offered reporters a scrap on Monday, the first day of the Winter Meetings. According to Katie Woo with the Athletic and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, he “intends to try” to trade Arenado. He doesn’t anticipate a trade during this week’s meetings.
Mozeliak does not anticipate trading Arenado before the end of the winter meetings, but does think his market will begin to come together quickly. At least three teams have inquired about Arenado’s availability, per a league source. #STLCards https://t.co/pGjvWofMTW
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) December 10, 2024
Both Woo and Goold reported that Arenado hasn’t demanded a trade from Mozeliak, but the executive wants to find a mutually beneficial deal for both teams. This is something of a necessity. Arenado has a no-trade clause and has to approve any deal the Cardinals can make for him.
Conversations Heating Up
Mozeliak told reporters he expects Soto’s signing to help move the needle on the trade market. With the off-season’s biggest fish off the market, now teams that hoped to land him will be searching for a backup splash.
Both Woo and Goold reported that the Cardinals have had conversations with several teams, somewhere between three and five. Both insiders also report that the team Soto left, the New York Yankees, is part of those conversations.
The status of Houston Astros free agent third baseman Alex Bregman could be another chip that needs to fall before one is done. However, Mozeliak anticipates a deal to be done before Spring Training.
Both Sides Motivated To Move On
The Cardinals have already cut a significant portion of their payroll this offseason. However, they would like to bring it down even more. Arenado has $64 million left on his deal. The Cardinals will likely have to retain some of that owed money to move the star, especially because he is coming off the worst season of his career.
The Cardinals are entering a different phase. The organization wants to prioritize developing young talent and getting an extended look at up-and-coming players at the Major League Level. While the front office doesn’t want to call it a rebuild, it’s certainly not the same tune as the last several years of trying to field a World Series team.
Arenado has had little postseason experience in his career. He has played in just eight postseason games in 12 seasons between the Cardinals and the Colorado Rockies. He’s never even reached a League Championship Series. If the Cardinals aren’t poised to make a deep playoff run, he wants to be somewhere else. Mozeliak did tell reporters on Monday that keeping him was a possibility. However, he also acknowledged that is not either side’s preferred option.
Main Photo Credits: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
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