According to a recent report from Jeff Passan of ESPN, Nolan Arenado is expected to be dealt this offseason, but the question is for what?
According to an ESPN offseason preview on Wednesday, St. Louis Cardinals infielder Nolan Arenado is expected to be traded this offseason.
This is hardly unexpected news, as we've heard about the idea of Arenado being traded for a year now. There was a deal in place to send him to the Houston Astros before the 2024 season, but he axed the deal. Now, he's willing to move on in an attempt to win. The Cardinals are also set to go through a rebuild which Arenado clearly doesn't want to be part of.
The Arenado file
One of the best players of the 2000s, Arenado is a 13-year veteran of the Colorado Rockies and Cardinals. An eight-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glover and a six-time Platinum Glover, he's also won five Silver Sluggers.
He's led the National League in home runs three times in his career, and he's led the majors in RBIs twice, but he's just not that player anymore.
At the age of 34 now, he'll turn 35 in April. He played just 107 games this season, hitting .237 with 12 homers, 52 RBIs and 18 doubles.
He had an OPS+ of 87, which is the first time he's had one under 100 since the COVID 2020 season.
How about the money?
Arenado has two years and $42 million left on his deal.
How about a trade framework?
New President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom will have two goals in a Bloom trade: To acquire prospects and to shed salary.
It seems unlikely that both of those things will happen in the same deal. Any team willing to take the money will not give up premium talent, and any team willing to give up premium talent will not take all the money.
It seems possible that the following could happen: Bloom could trade Arenado, with the Cardinals still eating a large portion of the money. In exchange for eating a large portion of the money, the Cardinals may be able to "buy" a better prospect package.
The Cardinals have other desirable trade options including Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson, and the Seattle Mariners have already been identified by us as a possible trade match.
How about timing?
The general manager's meetings are Nov. 11-13 and the framework of a deal could be set then, with the winter meetings taking place from Dec. 7-10. We could see a deal materialize there.