With the departure of Nolan Arenado to the Diamondbacks, Chaim Bloom has just about completed his (long-overdue) teardown of the St. Louis Cardinals — and finally consummated a trade over a year in the making. But while the veteran third baseman decided he was comfortable waiving his full no-trade clause this time, he apparently didn't do so willingly. It turns out that, even once you know it's time to move on, you still might not want to play out the rest of your big-league career in a Minor League park.
The latest batch of MLB rumors has more on the trade Arenado shot down before he accepted a move to Arizona, as well as where the New York Mets stand in the Cody Bellinger sweepstakes and what might be next in the Los Angeles Dodgers' ongoing quest to break baseball.
The latest MLB Rumors
- Nolan Arenado shot down a potential deal to the A's
- Is Cody Bellinger the final piece of the Mets' offseason puzzle?
- Dodgers' interest in Freddy Peralta is very real
Nolan Arenado shot down a potential deal to the A's
According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Athletics "had a deal in place" to land Arenado, only for the eight-time All-Star to inform the parties involved that he might not be willing to accept a move to Sacramento. St. Louis was also deep into talks with the D-backs and the San Diego Padres, and Arenado made it known that he much preferred either of those two destinations.
Rather than hope against hope for a change of heart, the A's decided to move on, pivoting to another veteran infielder whose team was looking to offload his contract: long-time Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil, whom New York shipped out West in return for rookie-ball pitcher Yordan Rodriguez. McNeil is a year younger than Arenado, and it's hard to argue he's not a better player at this point in their respective careers. Plus, he only has one guaranteed year left on his contract, while Arenado has two.
The A's had black holes at both second and third and needed to fill one of them; mission accomplished. And really, it's not like Arenado's the bad guy here either. This isn't a repeat of his refusal to accept a trade with the Astros, a contending team that he'd initially put on his list of approved destinations. Plenty of players have already complained about the Athletics' home digs at Sutter Health Park, and you can understand why Arenado would prefer either of the other two West Coast teams that have at least as reasonable a shot at Wild Card contention in 2026.
Is Cody Bellinger the final piece of the Mets' offseason puzzle?
With Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette all flying off the board in quick succession, the focus of MLB free agency now shifts squarely to Cody Bellinger — the one real impact position player left on the market. It's long been assumed that Bellinger would return to the New York Yankees, who started the offseason by broadcasting how much they loved him and wanted a reunion. But as we push into late January, Bellinger remains unsigned, and the big-market teams that whiffed on Tucker are now circling back.
The New York Mets, in particular, are "eyeing a versatile outfielder who can handle center field and support the corner spots", per The Athletic's Will Sammon — a description that fits Bellinger to a T. As has been the case with other big-name free agents, though, it appears David Stearns would much prefer a short-term deal at a high AAV like the one he just signed with Bichette. Bellinger and agent Scott Boras, meanwhile, have been holding out for something in the six- or seven-year range.
Unlike Bichette, who's a bit younger, Bellinger figures to be more inclined to prefer the security of a long-term contract that will carry him through the remainder of his career. So will the Mets cave here? And more importantly, should they?
The argument for signing Cody Bellinger
It's inarguable that Bellinger would fill a need for the Mets. The Brandon Nimmo trade created a hole in left field, and center field already figured to be a question mark. Both outfield spots next to Juan Soto are unsettled, and Bellinger brings the ability to play both defensively with above-average offense and legit athleticism on the bases.
Bellinger might not ever recapture his NL MVP form, but it's hard to find players who are genuine positives in every facet of the game. And if the Mets don't sign him, the fallback options come with limited upside or considerable risk.
The argument against — and who the Mets could target instead
The list gets thin pretty fast. Harrison Bader would be the next-best thing in free agency, and while he's defensive ace in center, his floor offensively is far lower than Bellinger's. From there, you're pretty much looking at trade candidates, from the Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar to Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox. (We're going to go ahead and assume that Boston's asking price for Jarren Duran is high enough that the Red Sox are just going to go ahead and keep him for now.)
Both Nootbaar and Robert are intriguing players, ones with star-level outcomes still on the table. They also haven't actually realized that potential on a regular basis, and with multiple years of team control remaining, neither of them would come cheap. Missing out on Bellinger could cost the Mets a prospect or two of real value in the long run, while leaving the team worse off in 2026. He's not a perfect fit — his fly ball-heavy swing is a far better fit for Yankee Stadium than Citi Field, for starters — but he's better than the alternative.
Dodgers' interest in Freddy Peralta is very real
If you thought the Dodgers would be content to sit the rest of the offseason out after adding Kyle Tucker to their lineup, well, you must have been living under a rock for the last couple of years. L.A.'s offense is just about set, but you can never have too much pitching, and Andrew Friedman reportedly has his sights set on the best arm available on the trade market: Brewers righty Freddy Peralta.
Los Angeles "remains interested" in Peralta, according to The Athletic's Katie Woo, reiterating the reporting that's been floating around all winter. Given how much injury risk they have in their starting rotation, finding reinforcements makes sense, and Peralta's $8 million salary for 2026 makes him very affordable. Still, while we don't blame you for assuming the worst with this team, there are a couple important reasons why the Dodgers remain an unlikely destination.
Why this trade stands little chance of actually happening
The first one is the most obvious: Why on Earth would the Brewers want to send Peralta to Los Angeles? It's long been a given that teams are unwilling to trade a player to a team within their own division. The Dodgers aren't moving to the NL Central, but the same principle applies here.
Milwaukee got embarrassed by L.A. in the NLCS last October, unable to muster much of anything offensively. And now, with the rest of the division floundering and the Phillies and Mets failing to take a step forward, they're going to respond by ... sending their best pitcher to their primary competition? Color me skeptical. At the very least, the price the Dodgers have to meet figures to be much higher than anybody else, and there already was no shortage of interested teams with trade assets the Brewers should want.
Which teams can outbid L.A.?
We can probably take the Boston Red Sox off the list of teams to express interest in Peralta, given that they just handed $130 million to Ranger Suarez. Even still, that leaves both the Yankees and Mets as well as other pitching-needy teams like the Orioles, Giants, Astros and Braves. Those last three might not have the juice to get a deal done, but Baltimore has plenty of young offensive pieces available. And both New York teams can boast intriguing, MLB-ready arms that Milwaukee will no doubt want in return, from Mets righties Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat to the Yankees' Adam Warren, Luis Gil and Elmer Rodriguez.
Maybe the Dodgers simply load up a trade package the Brewers can't afford to turn down. Given that Peralta's a rental, though, that seems unlikely. And short of a Godfather offer, Milwaukee figures to have plenty of other options that won't hurt nearly as much.