After over a year of trade rumors and speculation, the St. Louis Cardinals are finally trading Nolan Arenado.
The Cardinals are in serious conversations to trade Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic. Jeff Passan of ESPN added that Arenado has agreed to waive his no-trade clause, facilitating a deal.
The move ends roughly a year’s worth of speculation about Arenado’s future. The Cardinals are firmly in the middle of a rebuild, and have long wanted to move the third baseman’s bloated contract. That contract limited interest from other teams, as did Arenado’s willingness to use a his no-trade clause to dictate acceptable landing spots. That latter factor caused a deal to fall through last winter.
While Arenado remains a standout defensive third baseman, his offense appears to be in steady decline. He hit just .237 with 12 home runs last season, and his .666 OPS was the worst mark of his entire career. He also has two years and $40 million left on his contract.
The Diamondbacks had interest in Alex Bregman before he signed with Chicago, so they were at least somewhat in the third base market. Arenado is not much of a consolation prize in comparison, but he is still an eight-time All-Star with plenty of experience.
