Cardinals Should Offload $260 Million Gold Glover At Winter Meetings To Start Rebuild

The Cardinals should look to offload a star this winter.

Sep 11, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; A detailed view of the 9/11 ribbon on a St. Louis Cardinals hat in the dugout before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have once again puzzled their fans. After claiming they were headed for a "reset," John Mozeliak walked back those comments and stated that the team is not actively looking to trade Ryan Helsley this offseason.

However, former Gold Glover Nolan Arenado could be on the move. St. Louis acquired him in 2021 but never accomplished anything with him and Paul Goldschmidt as franchise cornerstones.

Arenado does have a no-trade clause, but St. Louis could still find a way to trade him. Andrew Heckroth of FanSided listed Arenado as a player that the Cardinals need to offload at the Winter Meetings next week.

"It's time to move on from Nolan Arenado, as much as it hurts to say as someone who enjoyed watching him play third base. Watching Arenado last year was hard, not from a statistical standpoint, but his body language left a lot to be desired. Recently, he posted on Instagram not once but twice, potentially hinting about a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers," Heckroth wrote.

"Like Miles Mikolas, Arenado has a no-trade clause that will complicate a potential deal, but if the Cardinals want to move forward with this youth movement, they must find a way. An Arenado trade also allows Jordan Walker to move to third base, a position he is more comfortable in than in right field."

Arenado hit .272 during the regular season but only had 16 home runs and posted a .719 OPS. Trading him would open up third base for Walker, Thomas Saggese, Nolan Gorman, or even Brendan Donovan.

We'll see if the Cardinals ultimately can find a way to trade Arenado.

More MLB: Cardinals $260M Star Could Be Open To Trade To Contender, Per Insider