The St. Louis Cardinals’ rebuilding plan includes potentially trading star third baseman Nolan Arenado.
“[Having Arenado remain a Cardinal] is a possibility, but I’m not sure that puts us where we want to be,” team president John Mozeliak said at MLB’s Winter Meetings in Dallas. “From a financial standpoint of trying to move our payroll, there are certainly other ways to do that, but [dealing Arenado] would be a big help. It’s financial, but it also creates a runway for someone else.”
He added, “These decisions are not something we ever take lightly. [Arenado] is not demanding a trade. He’s not telling me I have to do it, but I think in the best interest of both sides, I’d like to try to find him someplace to land.”
Arenado, 33, is under contract for 2025 at $32 million, 2026 at $27 million and 2027 at $15 million. He has a full no-trade clause, something he waived when he was dealt from the Colorado Rockies to the Cardinals on Feb. 1, 2021, but he received significant financial incentives for doing so.
“[The no-trade clause] is a complicating task, but again we’ve had open dialogue, and we understand where this may end,” Mozeliak said.
Arenado is coming off the first of his 12 major league seasons in which he didn’t make the National League All-Star team, win a Gold Glove or both. He is an eight-time All-Star and a 10-time Gold Glove winner.
In 2024, Arenado hit .272 with a .325 on-base percentage, a .394 slugging percentage, 16 homers and 71 RBIs in 152 games. The homer and RBI totals were his worst in 10 years, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
The Cardinals are coming off an 83-79 season in which they tied for second place in the NL Central but failed to make the playoffs.
Field Level Media contributed to this report.
