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The St. Louis Cardinals entered the offseason with the intention of trading third baseman Nolan Arenado. While the Cardinals engaged in talks with several teams in an attempt to move the 10-time Gold Glove winner, they’ve been unable to find a trade partner.
Multiple roadblocks stand in the way of an Arenado deal. Despite his standout career, the 12-year veteran has experienced a bit of a decline in his offensive production over the last two years. He's entering his age-34 season in 2025 and, perhaps most challenging, Arenado has a no-trade clause in his contract, which greatly limits president of baseball operations John Mozeliak’s ability to find a suitor.
The result has been months of fruitless talks with Arenado ultimately showing up at Cardinals spring training no closer to finding a new home for the upcoming season. And while the organization was once jumping through hoops in an effort to trade the eight-time All-Star, the situation has changed.
“Neither Arenado or John Mozeliak has closed the door on a trade but it doesn’t seem like anything is likely to happen anytime soon… We know that Nolan gave Mozeliak five teams that he would consider a trade to. [And] he’s not going to expand that list. Among those destinations, the Red Sox, the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Padres didn’t really seem to have a fit. So, right now everyone is just kind of stuck,” The Athletic’s Katie Woo explained via Foul Territory on X.
Will Nolan Arenado remain with the Cardinals for the 2025 season?
The Red Sox appeared to be a real possibility at one point. But after the team signed Alex Bregman – who will likely shift to second base to accommodate Boston’s third baseman Rafael Devers – the Red Sox are out of the Arenado conversation.
The Yankees also presented a likely destination as the team could use a third baseman and Arenado’s former teammate Paul Goldschmidt recently signed with New York. After the Yankees missed out on Bregman, Arenado seemed a logical fallback option. But as more time passes, it appears less and less likely that Nolan is headed to the Bronx.
The Padres don’t seem to be a good fit for Arenado either with Manny Machado manning the hot corner. And Arenado might be the only player the Dodgers aren't interested in acquiring. It seems odd that there’s so little interest in a player of Arenado’s caliber but it’s become increasingly likely that he’ll remain in St. Louis.
“The Cardinals can move forward business as usual. They’ll again peruse the market every now and then but for right now, they’re committed to having a 10-time Gold Glove winner at third base, guys, that’s not a bad thing to have on your roster,” Woo stated via Foul Territory.
