John Mozeliak isn't hiding how desperate he is to foist Nolan Arenado on the Yankees

It's an unwritten rule of MLB spring training that star veterans rarely, if ever, travel for away games. While prospects or guys fighting for roster spots are looking to get as many reps as they can, the more established players aren't sweating things so much, getting their work in at their team's complex without schlepping for hours on a bus across Florida or Arizona. If you want to see the biggest names in the sport during spring, you'll only catch them at their home park.

Not on Wednesday afternoon, however. Fans planning to catch the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees face off at New York's George M. Steinbrenner Field got a pleasant surprise: Not only did Nolan Arenado make the three-plus-hour drive from Cardinals camp in Jupiter to Yankees camp in Tampa, but he'll be starting at third base for St. Louis.

You can tell by who Arenado is sharing a lineup with just how rare it is for an eight-time All-Star entering his 13th Major League season to make this sort of appearance. Masyn Winn, Brendan Donovan and Ivan Herrera are the three other locks to make the Cardinals' Opening Day roster here, and all three are significantly younger and less experienced than Arenado is.

But of course, this isn't just any ordinary spring training for Arenado. And it's pretty clear to see what's actually happening here.

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Cardinals aren't fooling anyone with attempt to show Nolan Arenado off to the Yankees

It's obviously not a coincidence that Arenado is traveling for a road games against the Yankees specifically — you know, one of the handful of teams known to be on the third baseman's list of approved trade destinations. Cardinals president John Mozeliak has been open about the extent to which just about every other option has been exhausted in the team's pursuit of an Arenado deal: The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres were never happening, while the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox opted for Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman, respectively. Once Arenado shot down a move to the Houston Astros, there weren't many moves left on the board for St. Louis.

But the team still has every reason to try and move Arenado before Opening Day, and it just so happens that the Yankees still have a gaping hole at third base and the money to take on at least some of the money left on Arenado's hefty contract (even if Hal Steinbrenner would like to pretend otherwise). It's not too hard to connect the dots: New York might be Mozeliak's last best option to try and salvage this situation, and while the Yankees haven't shown a ton of interest this entire offseason, maybe seeing Arenado up close and personal could help change their minds.

Mozeliak shouldn't get his hopes up, though. The Yankees haven't taken the bait yet for a reason: Arenado is a a uniquely poor fit for Yankee Stadium set to make substantial money for three more years, and New York is already full-up on declining players with bad contracts. Brian Cashman has had plenty of time to evaluate Arenado and try to find a fit, but the only fit available would require St. Louis taking Marcus Stroman back in return — and the whole point of moving Arenado in the first place is to get younger and cheaper. Maybe Arenado homers twice and wins hearts and minds, but in the year 2025, the Yankees likely already have all the information they need to pass here.