Cardinals Have To Pay 'Significant Salary' To Deal Superstar, Per Insider

Keep an eye on the Cardinals over the next week or so at the Winter Meetings

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

There has been a lot of chatter about the St. Louis Cardinals' potential plans for the offseason.

Most of the speculation has swirled around subtractions the team could end up making with star third baseman Nolan Arenado right at the top of the list. His name has been thrown around left and right in trade rumors and has shown no signs of slowing down.

As the Winter Meetings kick-off and the offseason heats up, we could start to see more concrete rumors about his future. He has three years left on his deal and would be one of the best players available on the trade market.

If the Cardinals do end up wanting to trade him, though, ESPN's Buster Olney said St. Louis will need to "eat significant salary" to get a deal done.

"The St. Louis Cardinals are another team to monitor on the trade front," Olney said. "If Nolan Arenado is dealt sometime this winter, as many expect, then this will help define just how deep the Cardinals' rebuild is going to be. St. Louis plays in one of the weakest divisions in baseball, while operating with obvious advantages over teams like the (Cincinnati Reds), (Milwaukee Brewers), and (Pittsburgh Pirates), and yet could be entering a cycle of major reconstruction.

"The perception of other teams is that if the Cardinals are going to deal Arenado, or the Cubs intend to deal Cody Bellinger, they will have to be prepared to eat significant salary in order to facilitate a deal."

This doesn't mean that a deal won't get done, but it doesn't sound like it will be extremely easy either.

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