St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado blocked trades to both the Los Angeles Angels and the Houston Astros earlier this offseason. Despite that, the Cardinals are still reportedly looking to trade the veteran slugger, but have faced a lack of interest from potential suitors.
As reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Cardinals have continued to explore trade options for Arenado during the season, but teams are showing no interest in acquiring him.
Arenado, who is 34 years old, has actually improved his performance this season. His on-base percentage has risen by nearly 50 points, and his slugging percentage has also seen a boost, leading to a near 60-point increase in his OPS. Defensively, he ranks in the 92nd percentile for Fielding Run Value and the 95th percentile for Outs Above Average on Baseball Savant.
Despite this, the Cardinals have struggled to find a taker for him. After Arenado blocked trade moves to the Angels and Astros using his no-trade clause, St. Louis initially hoped to deal him to the Boston Red Sox in the offseason. However, Boston signed Alex Bregman, leaving the Cardinals with no viable options but to retain Arenado.
While the New York Yankees were once speculated as a possible destination for Arenado, they have shown no interest in acquiring him, citing his contract as a barrier. This sentiment seems to be shared by the rest of the league.
Despite having started trade talks back in November, Arenado is still on the Cardinals’ roster five months later. It appears that if St. Louis wants to move him, they may need to cover a significant portion of his contract, though even that may not guarantee a substantial return in a trade.
