The St. Louis Cardinals apparently spent the whole winter attempting to deal their top infielder, Nolan Arenado. Arenado still has a lot of money left on his contract, and St. Louis appears to be rebuilding. However, the star’s contract includes a no-trade clause, giving the Cardinals little to no bargaining power in any trade negotiations. This has resulted in Arenado continuing with the team, but not because the Cardinals wish to keep him.
Christopher Hennessy of ClutchPoints recently predicted that the Cardinals would keep Arenado for the duration of the 2025 season.
“This Cardinals offseason was defined by their quest to trade Nolan Arenado,” he said. “His no-trade clause prevented a trade to the Houston Astros, and they were unable to reach an agreement with anyone on his approved list.” As a result, the former MVP will remain at the hot corner in St. Louis for another three years. He will continue with the Cardinals through the season, and the drama will resume next year.”
At this point, it appears unlikely that Arenado will be traded unless one of the six teams for which he has reportedly waived his no-trade clause (the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and San Diego Padres) suffers an injury to one of its starting infielders.
Arenado is still excellent, but his deal is simply too large for a competitive team to take on, even if the prospect haul to acquire him is low. Arenado appears to be returning to the Cardinals for the season’s finale.
