Cardinals' $260 Million Star Gets Back-Breaking Update About Trade

St. Louis Cardinals star third baseman Nolan Arenado has been the top guy on the trade block for the last few months and it doesn't sound like he's coming off of it any time soon.

Trading Arenado was the team's top goal of the offseason and they said as much on numerous occasions. They didn't get a deal done and it seems significantly more likely than not that he will be the team's Opening Day starting third baseman.

Arenado has a no-trade clause and won't go just anywhere. While this is the case, it was reported that the teams he initially was interested in were the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the San Diego Padres. Boston is set after signing Alex Bregman, he turned down a trade to Houston, Los Angeles has been aggressive and has an astronomical payroll, and the Padres haven't gotten any buzz lately.

The Yankees have been interesting thanks in large part to the signing of Paul Goldschmidt, but there seems to be more chatter about a possible deal than actual interest from New York. ESPN's
Jorge Castillo said almost as much as he was talking about the Yankees' Spring Training. They noted that New York has "not been aggressive pursuers" of Arenado.

"Which leads to Nolan Arenado," Castillo said. "The St. Louis Cardinals, in the nascent stages of a rebuild, have made the eight-time All-Star available very publicly for months, but the Yankees have not been aggressive pursuers. Arenado, who turns 34 in April and is coming off his worst major league season, is owed $74 million through 2027, with the Colorado Rockies on the hook to pay $5 million in each of the next two years.

"The Cardinals would certainly need to eat some of the money to facilitate a trade. It's likely to happen at some point in 2025 -- they agreed to a deal with the Houston Astros in December, only for Arenado, who has a full no-trade clause, to block the trade. Maybe it'll be with the Yankees, who signed Arenado's good friend and former Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in December. But the Yankees are rolling with what they have for now."

There's plenty of rumors and chatter out there online but it doesn't seem like the Yankees are going to pull off a deal anytime soon. He has three years left on his $260 million deal and it sounds like at least a chunk of that is going to be with St. Louis.