There's one glaring reason Yankees' rumored infield target would be doomed to fail

The New York Yankees' front office has been hard at work replacing Juan Soto, doubling down on pitching depth with Max Fried and Devin Williams while adding two accomplished bats in Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt.

There's plenty of reason to be optimistic about New York's ability to sustain positive momentum next season, even without Soto. For one, Aaron Judge is the reigning MVP and the best bat in the American League, point blank. New York has also an upstart Jazz Chisholm Jr., a Giancarlo Stanton who was mashing in October and, again, two very accomplished bats in Bellinger and Goldschmidt.

Now, Bellinger and Goldschmidt both saw their slugging crater in 2024. There are red flags aplenty to balance out the optimism. That's why the Yankees aren't done adding, at least in theory. Soto's $765 million payday with the Mets can be distributed between a healthy handful of impact players for Brian Cashman and the Yankees.

One potential target gaining steam in trade rumors is Nolan Arenado, the St. Louis Cardinals third baseman who is two years removed from leading the National League in WAR. On the surface, it's a highly appealing option. Arenado is a 10-time Gold Glove winner who could replace Gleyber Torres in the lineup and bring more high-level experience to New York.

There is considerable downside, though, and it goes well beyond Arenado's recent decline in production.

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New York should probably steer clear of Nolan Arenado based on Yankee Stadium numbers

Arenado, 33, has been on a precipitous decline offensively. He posted the worst slugging percentage (.394) and OPS (.719) of his career last season, joining Bellinger and Goldschmidt in the Wrong Direction Club. He's also due $52 million over the next three years, which is a lot for somebody so clearly on the downswing of his career.

So, why are the Yankees — or anybody — interested? Well, because Arenado has been the victim of a tough hitting park in St. Louis, and because he's a top-shelf defender. Even at his "advanced" age, Arenado can flash the leather at third base as well as anybody.

The issue for New York in particular? Well, first, Yankee Stadium isn't any friendlier to hitters. Second, it's especially unkind to Arenado, who quite literally would not perform worse in any other ballpark based on his spray chart over the last two years.

This should give Cashman and the front office more than enough skepticism to work with. Sometimes these stats are noisy, but Arenado's hitting is already in a period of regression. The Yankees don't need to expedite his downfall by placing him in the worst imaginable setting for 81 games each season.

Paul Goldschmidt's arrival in New York could lead Arenado to consider a trade to the Yankees, per MLB.com's John Denton, Mark Feinsand and Bryan Hoch. That relationship is deep, and critical to the Yankees' pitch to Arenado, who has a full no-trade clause. The question of whether or not the Yankees should even explore a trade, however, ought to be more prevalent, as such a partnership feels destined to disappoint.