
The St. Louis Cardinals haven’t been shy about the fact that they want to trade Nolan Arenado.
This was the case last offseason as well. Now, there's a new executive leading the Cardinals' baseball operations in Chaim Bloom. He, like John Mozeliak, has spoken openly about the idea of trading Arenado. Last offseason, the Cardinals tried to get a deal done. But, it didn't work out. It sounds like this offseason could be different, though.
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Arenado is out there for the taking, but USA Today's Jesse Yomtov and Bob Nightengale acknowledged that to get any deal done, it will take St. Louis eating a "significant portion" of the remaining money on his deal.
"Nolan Arenado trade finally coming? The Cardinals have been trying to trade Arenado for a year now, with the 10-time Gold Glove winner using his no-trade clause to nix a deal with the Houston Astros last winter." Yomtov and Nightengale said. "And finding a trade partner this offseason won't be easy with Arenado coming worst year of his career, batting .237 with a .666 OPS with 12 home runs in 401 at-bats. He's earning $42 million over the next two seasons – with $5 million being paid by the Colorado Rockies – and St. Louis will have to eat a significant portion of Arenado's salary in any trade.
"We are on the same page with Nolan,” Bloom said, as transcribed by Yomtov and Nightengale. “I believe he’s going to the Hall of Fame. One of the better players in the history of the game. We all feel like it’s best to find a different fit. So, obviously, we’ll work on that with him. If and when that will happen, I don’t know. But it’s something that he’s been a total pro about."
The big difference this year is the idea of including money in a deal for Arenado. The Cardinals have made it sound like they are open to the possibility.
Arenado has had a good run in St. Louis, but all of the signs continue to point to these two sides going in a different direction.
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