It’s no secret around baseball that the St. Louis Cardinals are looking to move third baseman Nolan Arenado.
The Cardinals are looking to reset for the 2025 season after letting former National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt walk in free agency. They’re also aiming to move on from the $74 million owed to Arenado over the last three years of his deal.
The Cardinals were looking to trade Arenado to the Houston Astros earlier this week, but the eight-time All-Star nixed the deal by invoking his no-trade clause.
Now, it’s come to light that another team tried to acquire Arenado, but it was the Cardinals who rebuffed the deal.
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MLB insiders reveal why St. Louis Cardinals turned down New York Yankees’ deal for Nolan Arenado
According to MLB.com’s John Denton, Mark Feinsand, and Bryan Hoch, the Yankees offered the Cardinals pitcher Marcus Stroman for Arenado. St. Louis rejected the deal because they didn’t want to take on Stroman’s contract, which has $18 million remaining in its final year.
Meanwhile, the Yankees reportedly signed Goldschmidt, Arenado’s former Cardinals teammate, to a one-year, $12.5 million contract to become their new first baseman.
While Arenado has regressed offensively and defensively over the last two seasons, he remains an above-average third baseman. With Goldschmidt now on board and if the Yankees were still able to trade for Arenado, New York would likely move Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to second base, while newly-acquired Cody Bellinger would play either center or left field.
Related: St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado reportedly blocks trade to this playoff team