The San Diego Padres have been in trade talks with the St. Louis Cardinals for All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado. The Padres adding a star like Arenado to their already solid core of players would be seismic, especially for a team that is coming off a 93-win season.
It is widely known Arenado has been on the trade block this winter, but the Cardinals have yet to find a suitable trade partner. The no-trade clause in Arenado’s contract gives the 10-time Gold Glove winner a ton of freedom to select his preferred landing spot.
For example, the Cardinals believed they had found a trade partner in the Houston Astros. The Astros were aggressively pursuing Arenado and were willing to eat up a majority of the third baseman’s remaining $74 million salary. The Cardinals’ plans were spoiled when Arenado nixed the trade using his no-trade clause.
Arenado hopes to join a contender for the 2025 season, which makes things difficult for the Cardinals, a team that is hoping to shed payroll.
The Cardinals can trade the third baseman to five clubs, three of which are publicly known: the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and San Diego Padres.
The Red Sox seemed like the most realistic fit for Arenado, but the team signing Alex Bregman likely puts them out of the running.
Since Arenado is only willing to join a small number of teams, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak made this remark earlier this week: “(Nolan Arenado) is likely going to be a part of our club at this point.”
Cardinals insider John Denton revealed the situation with Arenado’s salary that has shifted in St. Louis, citing the team may be less adamant with finding a trade partner willing to take all of Arenado’s remaining salary.
“A sticking point in any Arenado deal could come down to how much of the $64 million remaining on Arenado’s contract the Cardinals are willing to absorb,” Denton wrote. “Initial trade talks in early January broke down when the Cardinals refused to pay as much as $20 million toward the balance of Arenado’s contract, a source said. After failing to make much trade progress elsewhere throughout January, the Cardinals reengaged the Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers about possible restructured deals for the star third baseman.”
Though the Padres could use another star on the roster, Arenado’s remaining salary may be too much for the organization to take on. However, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has surprised fans before and Arenado’s interest in joining the Padres is certainly there.
