Cardinals Could Send Star Third Baseman To Royals In Blockbuster Trade

The Cardinals could make a deal with the Royals this winter.

Mar 6, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals hat and gloves lay in the dugout at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are about to enter a rebuild and will likely trade away some key pieces.

Both Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras have already confirmed that they want to stay in St. Louis, but other players could be on the way out soon. One of them could be star third baseman Nolan Arenado.

Arenado is owed $74 million over the next three years, which isn't overly expensive, but the Cardinals are looking to cut some payroll this offseason, and he may not want to sit through a rebuild. Jacob Milham of FanSided noted that the Kansas City Royals could be a fit.

"If the Royals want to make a sure-fire improvement at the hot corner and make a big splash, could they target third baseman Nolan Arenado?" Milham wrote.

"Arenado wouldn’t come cheap, but his contract isn’t an unmanageable burden. The 33-year-old is under contract for three more seasons, with $74 million owed during that span. Thanks to the Rockies covering $5 million annually in 2025 and 2026, St. Louis is responsible for $64 million — about $20 million per year. By modern MLB standards, that’s a fair price for a star at his position, even one past his prime. The Cardinals could sweeten the deal by absorbing more of Arenado’s contract, but that would likely require the acquiring team to part with more prospect capital."

Arenado had a difficult season in 2024, hitting .272 but only hitting 16 home runs and posting a .719 OPS. It wouldn't hurt for the Cardinals to find a team to take him off their hands. They could then give third base to Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, or Thomas Saggese.

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