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Nolan Arenado the Center of Interest in Cardinals Trade Deadline Prediction

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By A. Kazmierczak | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 12:02 PM ET

With a month and a half before the clock strikes midnight on MLB's trade deadline, front offices are deciding whether to be buyers, sellers, or do nothing before July 31.

Prior to Tuesday's St. Louis Cardinals-Chicago White Sox game, Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer published an article predicting what each MLB team would do at the deadline. With the Cardinals struggling this month, he suggested the team would perhaps part ways with their biggest star.

"The Cardinals were a nice story early on, but a 4-10 June has cleared up any confusion about how good they actually are." Rymer wrote.

"Despite his contract and waning production, Nolan Arenado remains an interesting trade chip. He badly needs a change of scenery, and he should want one amid the sudden losing. If he gets one, maybe he'll be energized, Frankenstein-style into the Arenado of old."

The 34-year-old has been the subject of trade rumors for several months. Unfortunately, Arenado, a .283 career hitter, is having one of his worst seasons in 2025. Through 68 games, he's slashing .244/.306/.388 with eight home runs and 36 RBIs. His current OPS of .694 is a career-low.

Despite his struggles at the plate, Arenado could still bring value to teams in need of a gold-glove caliber third baseman. He wasn't the only Cardinals potential trade-chip mentioned in Rymer's article however.

"Otherwise, Ryan Helsley, Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde and Miles Mikolas are here, too. The first of those names is arguably the best reliever who could be available this summer."

Like Arenado, Helsley's numbers are down in 2025. The 30-year-old has a 3.96 ERA and has blown more saves this season (5) than all of last year (4). However, Helsley is a proven closer who set the franchise record with 49 saves last season, and could be the final piece for a team looking to make some noise in the postseason.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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