Rumors that the St. Louis Cardinals might actually trade Nolan Arenado to the Los Angeles Dodgers aren't going away. Is a Nolan Arenado trade between the Cardinals and Dodgers likely? No. But it's a scenario that St. Louis might want to give serious consideration before the 2023 MLB trade deadline on Tuesday.

It's a long shot that the Cardinals will actually send Arenado to the Dodgers before the trade deadline, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. There are a couple of reasons why St. Louis might want to take the next few days to mull any Dodgers' trade offer.

The Cardinals want to use the trade deadline to acquire young pitchers who miss bats. Making a deal with Los Angeles could help St. Louis accomplish that goal. The Cardinals will only receive so much in return for pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty, who are headed for free agency. Arenado has a ton of value because he's an All-Star with four years left on his contract. The Dodgers' farm system is stocked with young, promising arms.

Because they've been enamored with Arenado for years, the Dodgers might make a very compelling offer for the star third baseman.

Trading Arenado would also open up third base for one of the Cardinals' young infielders, according to Rosenthal. Nolan Gorman is a natural third baseman, but he's played most of his games in 2023 at second base or DH. The logjam in the infield has limited Brendan Donovan to 34 games at second base. Donovan has bounced around, spending time at DH, right field and left field.

In his second big-league season, Gorman has 22 home runs in just 94 games. Also in his second year with the Cardinals, Donovan is hitting .283/.381/.398.

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Offense hasn't been an issue for St. Louis in 2023. The Cardinals are ninth in runs scored in MLB with the seventh-highest OPS. Even without Arenado's .849 OPS, St. Louis could put a competitive lineup out on the field each night.

Pitching has been the Cardinals' Achilles' heel. St. Louis' 4.61 ERA ranks 23rd in baseball. The Cardinals have blown 24 saves. Swapping Arenado for quality young pitchers could significantly improve St. Louis' chances of competing in the coming years.

The Cardinals have yet to say that Arenado is untouchable. Even though he's likely staying put, it's a situation to monitor up until the deadline.