St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado hoped for a trade this winter, with the club promising to explore opportunities to move him to a contender. With Opening Day 2025 closing in, Arenado remains on the Cardinals roster with questions about his future.
Arenado’s residence on a team that isn’t expected to contend for a playoff spot this season isn’t for a lack of effort to move him. Throughout the offseason, there were MLB rumors about St. Louis discussing deals with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros among others.
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- Nolan Arenado stats (ESPN): .272/.325/.394, .719 OPS, 16 home runs, 71 RBI, 157 hits in 578 ABs
However, Arenado got in the way of a deal. Houston and St. Louis agreed to a trade in December that Arenado blocked and reports have indicated the Astros aren’t the only team he said no to. The Gold Glove Award winner wanted to play for Boston, but the signing of Alex Bregman took that option off the table.
Another possibility would’ve been the New York Yankees. However, even after the Giancarlo Stanton injury, reports indicate the Yankees have absolutely zero interest in acquiring Arenado and that stance isn’t expected to change anytime soon.
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With the Yankees and Red Sox off the table, Robert Murray of Fansided reports that the Cardinals are expected to keep Arenado past Opening Day. At the earliest, the team might start shopping him again closer to the MLB trade deadline this summer.
- St. Louis Cardinals payroll 2025 (FanGraphs): $148 million, 17th in MLB
While Arenado’s contract structure is somewhat favorable because of descending payroll salaries, the luxury tax cost each year ($25.55 million) exceeds the value he provides on the field. Set to turn 34 in April, he’s coming off a season where he was just league-average as a hitter and his defense at third is worsening.
St. Louis tried moving him, but Arenado prevented deals from happening with a few of the contenders who were willing to take on his salary. Barring a turnaround this upcoming season, Arenado could be stuck on the Cardinals roster for a while.
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