Another day off the calendar and another day without a Nolan Arenado trade. Despite the fact that these rumors have been floating around for months, it remains inevitable that the St. Louis Cardinals will deal the all-star caliber third baseman.
Several teams have been interested in acquiring Arenado but have not been able to do so because of the greediness of John Mozeliak (Cardinals president of baseball operations) and Arenado’s no-trade clause.
Aside from the trades that Arenado has blocked, there have not been many opportunities for St. Louis to make a trade. With teams concerned about his salary and declining offensive numbers, the level of interest in Arenado has not been as high as one would think. After Thursday, his value just may have increased.
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Nolan Arenado singlehandedly sending his trade stock back up
No one is questioning the defensive ability of 10-time Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado. However, he is coming off one of the worst offensive seasons of his career in terms of power. Arenado still hit a respectable .272 in 2024 but with only 16 home runs and 71 RBIs.
Arenado has made the claim in the past that Busch Stadium is not exactly hitter-friendly. Regardless of the reasoning behind the declining power numbers, no one will gladly pay the remaining $52 million on Arenado’s contract unless they know he is still the player he once was.
Concerns about his offense seemed valid following an 0-for-3 game with two strikeouts against the New York Yankees, who have been mentioned as potential suitors for Arenado. Arenado followed up his hitless performance against the Yankees with a 2-for-2 day against the Marlins, including a massive three-run homer.
Arenado’s spring training games at this point are essentially auditions for other teams across the league who are interested in trading for him. If he continues to display this type of power, we could see Arenado draw interest from more teams in the coming weeks.