SI

Nolan Arenado Driving Three Hours to Play vs. Yankees Raises Eyebrows Amid Trade Buzz

Tim Capurso

Arenado having a laugh at the Cardinals' spring training site.
Arenado having a laugh at the Cardinals' spring training site. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
In this story:

As trade rumors continue to swirl around 10-time Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado, the St. Louis Cardinals star on Wednesday made a move that will ensure the buzz surrounding his name doesn't quiet down anytime soon.

The Cardinals are taking on the New York Yankees in Grapefruit League spring training action at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa and Arenado is in the lineup. Ho hum.

Well, not quite.

The interesting part is that the trip from the Cardinals' spring training site, Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., to the Yankees' site is roughly three hours, quite the commute for a player of Arenado's stature at this early juncture in the spring.

The move certainly raised some eyebrows, especially among the Yankees beat writers.

Even Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, making an appearance on The Foul Territory podcast, seemed to think Arenado's trip was more something rather than nothing, noting that it shows him that the Cardinals veteran "wants to play in front of the Yankees and maybe give them something to think about."

To play devil's advocate here, the Cardinals have Arenado on an on-again, off-again schedule through four spring training games played. He played in the spring opener against the Miami Marlins, sat for the second game against the Houston Astros, played again against the New York Mets, then sat vs. the Toronto Blue Jays before making his return to the lineup once again in the tilt with the Yankees.

But each of the games Arenado played in were at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, making Wednesday his first road trip of the spring. The eight-time All-Star has been on the trade block this offseason as the Cardinals front office angles itself towards getting younger on the field while saving some money in the process.

Arenado, who has a full no-trade clause, has a list of teams he'd approve a trade to—and the Yankees were not one of them. But New York reportedly approached St. Louis earlier in the offseason about a trade for Arenado, an overture which the Cardinals rebuffed due to the Yankees' inclusion of starter Marcus Stroman—and his hefty contract—in the dicussions.

The Cardinals had a trade in place with the Houston Astros, but Arenado, using the no-trade clause, blocked the deal. This past weekend, it was reported that the Astros "rekindled" their efforts to trade for Arenado.

Perhaps Arenado's trip to Tampa will reignite some talks between the Yankees and Cardinals.

More of the Latest Around MLB

Published
Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

Home/MLB