.jpg)
6 hours ago
1
•
The St. Louis Cardinals have some exciting young talent ready to make strides in 2025, but the team will have to address an elephant in the room first.
After missing the playoffs for the second straight season in 2024, the Cardinals are embarking on a significant rebuild. Most of their roster should benefit from a little patience, but star veteran Nolan Arenado is no longer a good fit and the team is looking to trade him.
Arenado has a no-trade clause and the Cardinals would want to land some significant prospect value in return for him, so there could only be a few teams that match up in a prospective deal. Projecting the remaining moves for the Major League Baseball offseason, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers predicted that the Cardinals would find their Arenado suitor in the Boston Red Sox
“The fit in St. Louis just isn’t right anymore and everyone knows it,” Rogers wrote. “The Cardinals aren’t concerned with money owed to Arenado, so they’re willing to pick up a portion of it because they want quality prospects in return. Boston can deliver that.”
Arenado is one of the most accomplished active players in baseball, with eight All-Star nods, 10 Gold Glove Awards and five Silver Slugger Awards across 12 big-league seasons. He slashed .272/.325/.394 with 16 homers and 71 RBI for the Cardinals and led all the majors with a .977 fielding percentage at third base in 2024, so the 33-year-old still has something left in the tank.
And a fit with the Red Sox could make sense for the righty slugger, as he’d be able to slot in at the hot corner and allow Rafael Devers to move to first base. The Red Sox are almost certainly looking for a third base upgrade that brings some pop to their lineup after making significant additions this winter. Rogers noted that their negotiations with free agent Alex Bregman could falter, paving the way for an Arenado trade.
“After exhausting attempts to sign Bregman, the Red Sox pivot to Arenado as the St. Louis Cardinals start to exhibit a bit of desperation with the season approaching,” Rogers predicted.
Arenado is entering the seventh season of a $260 million contract he signed with the Colorado Rockies, so the Cardinals would probably have to eat some salary to facilitate a deal.
Even after dealing away some significant prospect capital to acquire pitcher Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox, the Red Sox still have a top-tier farm system. That could come into play as they look to upgrade their infield with one of baseball’s biggest stars.
More MLB: Dodgers predicted to land projected $170 million two-time All-Star in blockbuster
Peter Chawaga is a veteran journalist covering Major League Baseball for The Sporting News. His MLB reporting has included feature interviews with commissioner Rob Manfred and Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz, salary analysis, player rankings and more. He has covered baseball for Forbes, Yardbarker, Pitcher List, Athlon and other outlets.
With over ten years of newsroom experience, he has previously covered finance, technology, arts, and culture for newspapers, magazines, and websites nationwide. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in English and journalism.
English (US)