The St. Louis Cardinals' days with superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado could be numbered with the July 31 trade deadline steadily approaching.
Given that the trade deadline is less than two weeks away and the Cardinals are 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs in the National League Central and are 3 1/2 games out of an NL Wild Card spot, a St. Louis fire sale could be imminent.
After failing to find a new home for Arenado this past offseason, this summer's trade deadline could be the Cardinals' perfect opportunity to complete a deal with a top American League contender for the 10-time Gold Glove defender.
"The Cardinals could still move Nolan Arenado and be willing to pay down his contract; a team like the (Detroit) Tigers makes a lot of sense in that scenario because St. Louis could include a reliever in the deal as well," The Athletic's Jim Bowden wrote Monday morning when discussing each team's needs before this year's trade deadline. "(Arenado has a full no-trade clause he’d have to waive.) The Cardinals could also use a right-handed-hitting outfielder. Expect them to toe the line between buying and selling, depending on what moves are available to them."
This isn't the first time this season Bowden has linked Arenado to the Tigers, who hold the league's best record at 60-40 and currently command the AL Central with an 11-game lead over the second-place Cleveland Guardians.
Considering that Arenado's top priority for his future is to earn a World Series ring, it would make sense for the 34-year-old to be traded to Detroit this summer.
The Tigers are young and could benefit from adding Arenado to their clubhouse. To make the deal more intriguing for Detroit, the Cardinals could offer one of their impending free agent relievers -- Phil Maton, Steven Matz or Ryan Helsley.
Arenado didn't seem interested in being traded to the Tigers this past offseason. Still, perhaps the six-time Platinum Glove recipient will waive his full no-trade clause for Detroit after seeing how well the franchise has played this year.
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