MLB Analyst Proposes 3 Destinations For Cardinals' Nolan Arenado

Will the Cardinals get a blockbuster trade done before Spring Training?

Aug 30, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) singles during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Will the trade rumors swirling around St. Louis Cardinals star Nolan Arenado come to an end soon?

He has been the biggest name on the trade market all offseason to this point. He's an eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner. He has three years left on his deal and the Cardinals' front office has specifically stated that it wants to lower their payroll and a deal involving him certainly would accomplish that.

It has been an odd offseason so far, though, with just about two weeks to go until Spring Training. He's still with the Cardinals and there are a handful of top-tier players available in free agency still looking for new homes, including Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, and Jack Flaherty.

With each passing day, it seems more and more likely that the Cardinals will end up holding on to Arenado at least to begin Spring Training. MLB.com's Will Leitch suggested a deal is still possible and suggested the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and Kansas City Royals as potential destinations.

"Legitimate question: Do you think Arenado regrets using his no-trade clause to block a deal that would have sent him to Houston last month? You can understand what he was thinking at the time," Leitch said. "The Astros had just traded away Tucker, which is not the sort of thing a team that is all-in to win would normally do. Winning is something Arenado wants more than anything else at this point of his career, and he might have gotten spooked.

"But then the Astros immediately moved on, and the Arenado market appears to have dried up considerably, in part due to the Cardinals’ efforts to offload most of his remaining salary. You can still come up with some potential landing spots, depending on what happens with Alonso and Bregman: the Red Sox, the Mets, maybe even a team like the Royals."

At this point, it seems like the Cardinals probably would do pretty much anything to get a deal done.

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