St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado is one of the top trade candidates of the entire Major League Baseball offseason.
At age 34, Arenado has declined sharply from the eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glover he was earlier in his career. He had some fantastic seasons in St. Louis after arriving in a 2021 trade with the Colorado Rockies, but as the Cardinals enter a rebuild, he’s an albatross on the payroll.
Though it felt like a farewell when Arenado played his last games at Busch Stadium in September, the Cardinals still have to find a place to trade him — though that should be easier to do than last offseason, when the star flexed his no-trade clause to prevent a move to the Houston Astros.
Apr 13, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) rounds second base on a two-run home run by St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (40, not shwon) in the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images / Tim Vizer-Imagn Images
On Wednesday, Mike Axisa of CBS Sports predicted that Arenado would be traded to one of the Cardinals’ National League rivals — the Philadelphia Phillies, who have starter Alec Bohm under contract for just one more year and could be looking for an injection of new blood.
“The Cardinals did a whole farewell thing for Arenado’s final home game and Phillies (president of baseball operations) Dave Dombrowski strikes me as the type to go after the fiery veteran,” Axisa wrote.
“I’m not saying the Phillies will take on the entire $32 million the Cardinals still owed Arenado or that they’ll send St. Louis a big package of prospects. The Cardinals will eat a bunch of money and take back two or three Grade C prospects, but it’ll get done, and Arenado will man third base in Philadelphia in 2026 and 2027.”
From an offensive standpoint, Arenado hasn’t been as good as Bohm over the last two years. But Citizens Bank Park could be a good place for him to rediscover some of his pull power, and his defense is still better at this stage than Bohm’s.
The Cardinals are scheduled to host the Phillies from Aug. 10-12 next summer before traveling to Philadelphia the following weekend. Will Arenado be in attendance?
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