The possible Hall of Famer remains on the roster.
With just six weeks to go until spring training, Nolan Arenado remains on the St. Louis Cardinals roster. The question is, for how long?
The Cardinals are embarking on a rebuild, as evidenced by their trades of Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, and Arenado figures to be gone as well, but it hasn't happened yet. Why? Let's take a look.
About Arenado
One of the best players of the 2000s, Arenado is a 13-year veteran of the Colorado Rockies and Cardinals. He is a lifetime .282 hitter with 353 homers and 1,184 RBIs. He's got seven seasons of 30 homers or more, but has seen his production fall over the last few years.
Now 34 years old and about to be 35 in April, Arenado saw his OPS+ fall to 87 in 2025 while hitting just 12 homers and bringing home 52 runs.
An eight-time All-Star, he is a five-time Silver Slugger, a 10-time Gold Glover and a six-time Platinum Glove winner. He is still owed nearly $40 million in guaranteed money over the next two seasons, and there's a slew of contract deferral money coming later as well.
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The money relative to production
The biggest reason why Arenado hasn't been moved is because of the production. He's just not the same player that he was and a team isn't going to part with money or prospects in order to acquire this version of Arenado. Furthermore, at nearly $40 million, no team is paying for this version of Arenado. As was noted by The Athletic, Arenado will be an option for some teams if the Cardinals are willing to pay much or all of the salary in an outgoing deal.
The market
Alex Bregman is still on the market. Bo Bichette is still on the market. Eugenio Suarez is still on the market. And so is Yoan Moncada. Those four players all impact Arenado and the Cardinals, and until most or all of them have signed, Arenado will remain put.
Whoever is left out of the sweepstakes for those players could end up circling back to the Cardinals.
Interested teams?
We've heard that the Los Angeles Angels are interested, but beyond that, look for teams who do miss out on the above players. The Seattle Mariners, who have a possible need at third, could also be a potential factor.
Arenado is reportedly also willing to play some first base to help an acquiring team out.
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