With the clear need that the Dodgers have in their starting rotation, it can be easy to forget that they have other pressing needs across the roster as well. One of those is at third base, where the team could look to upgrade from Max Muncy, even after inking a two-year extension on Thursday.
Muncy will be on the team next season, but if they could slot him somewhere else, it could benefit everyone. It remains to be seen if the Dodgers feel that they need to upgrade, but it would be nice to see.
One name that is circling around the trade rumors once again is a familiar one, Nolan Arenado from the St. Louis Cardinals. It seems that it could be a long shot to land him, but LA could still at least get the conversation started.
“The St. Louis Cardinals might look to offload their surplus of outfielders (they also have third baseman Nolan Arenado, though any trade for him still looks like a long shot)”
Per Jack Harris of The LA Times
Arenado has been linked to the Dodgers for a long time now, but it seems that a trade never actually comes to fruition. It has been one of the longest games of chicken in recent history, and almost every season we hear about it.
There was talk about him coming to LA during the trade deadline this season, but again it never happened. It seems that St. Louis wants to hold onto their star third baseman, and rightfully so.
He is still a very quality player in the game today, and it would take a decent haul to get him away from the Cardinals. LA may not want to pay what it will take, and the Cardinals don’t seem interested in playing a fair negotiating game.
Getting Arenado would be massive for this Dodgers team, both in the lineup and defensively. While he isn’t the same player that he once was over at third base, Arenado is still a very valuable defensive player to whatever team he is on.
Never say never on any trade deal, but it seems unlikely that Arenado will be wearing Dodger blue next season. The team will have to look down other routes to upgrade at third base if that is one of their priorities this offseason.
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