The St. Louis Cardinals are five games back in the NL Central entering play on Friday night. The Cardinals have been a surprising storyline in June, but their timeline of success is limited. Despite challenging the Cubs early in the campaign, it was only a matter of time before the Cards fell off, and they have done so, losing six of their last ten games. With that brief repreive from winning comes serious questions, including what St. Louis will do come the MLB Trade Deadline. One player who has consistently remained available is third baseman Nolan Arenado.
The Cardinals wanted to trade Arenado this winter, when they agreed to a deal with the Houston Astros. Unfortunately for John Mozeliak and the Cards front office, Arenado has a no-trade clause. Since then, Arenado has been floated as a solution in Boston, Detroit and even with the New York Yankees. That is where the latest rumors come from, as Arenado's longtime friend and former Cardinals teammate Paul Goldschmidt could play a role in July.
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Paul Goldschmidt isn't doing the Cardinals any favors
Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, “Arenado is liking the Cardinals kids, but of course he wouldn’t mind joining old friends Paul Goldschmidt and DJ LeMahieu here. (The Yankees haven’t shown much interest.)”
The part of that sentence in parenthesis – much of which is meant to be an afterthought – is actually important. The Yankees have long been linked to Arenado, but don't have a ton of interest. This is for several reasons, including that Arenado is 34 years old and isn't particularly having a good season. He is also on a contract most contenders don't want to trade for! Arenado is signed through his age-36 season, and would cost the Yankees close to $52 million unless the Cardinals agreed to take on some of the money he is owed.
Nolan Arenado is a tough trade asset for the Cardinals
Arenado is a 10-time gold glover and five-time All-Star. He has proven to be capable at the hot corner, and he remains one of the best defensive third basemen in MLB, even in his mid-30's. However, that does not mean he is worth giving up significant prospect capital for, especially given his contract and that his current OPS is .707. Arenado hasn't been an elite-level player at the plate for the last two-plus years. He has the name brand of a player with significant power and plate prowess, but he hasn't delivered in quite some time.
The Yankees don't have a solution at third base, and it wouldn't be the first time that New York GM Brian Cashman brought in a veteran who out-performed expectations. Arenado would be around familiar surroundings, especially given his friendships with Goldschmidt and LeMahieu. He'd also add a lot to the Yankees payroll, which they've proven less willing to stretch in recent seasons.
Arenado isn't an answer for the Yankees, but what Goldschmidt did do was add another tough question for his former Cardinals teammates to answer in the St. Louis locker room. That's less than ideal.