Nolan Arenado remains on the St. Louis Cardinals, despite being floated around by the team on the trade block. Arenado has say in where he can go, and found no team he was willing to play for, including the Houston Astros. Arenado had a short list of teams he would accept a trade to, and the Los Angeles Dodgers were one of them.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the Cardinals are still trying to trade Arenado, and the Dodgers have yet to express interest in a deal. Nightengale says the Dodgers are still holding out hope that Max Muncy breaks out of his slump.
Dodgers still banking on Max Muncy bounce-back before entertaining Nolan Arenado trade
Arenado is from Los Angeles, and joining the Dodgers would be a homecoming. But the team isn't interested just yet.
Muncy has been with the Dodgers since 2017 after signing a minor league deal after starting his career with the Oakland Athletics. Muncy had two All-Star seasons (2019 and 2021) and helped the Dodgers win two World Series titles (2020, 2024). But this year, Muncy has gotten off to a rough start.
In 31 games this season, Muncy recorded a .184 batting average, a .314 on-base percentage, a .286 slugging percentage, one home run, five RBI, seven runs scored, 18 hits, and 37 strikeouts in 98 at-bats.
There's still plenty of season left for Muncy to turn things around. But with the NL West being aes tough as it is, it may only be a matter of time before the Dodgers look elsewhere for reinforcements, especially if they want to repeat as World Series champions.
Arenado, meanwhile, has slashed .237/.326/.395 while recording three home runs, 13 RBI, 13 runs scored, 27 hits, and just 10 strikeouts over 114 at-bats (30 games). Any team adding Arenado would also be getting a sure thing at third base, as evidenced by his 10 Gold Glove awards.
It will remain to be seen if the Dodgers will go all-in by the trade deadline, and if Arenado is in those plans.