St. Louis Cardinals Facing Significant $31 Million Question

Arenado hasn’t played at the big league level since July 30th. Since then, Nolan Gorman has gotten a consistent role at third base. He's hit five home runs and in 38 games played to go along with 17 RBIs, but he's batting just .198 over the stretch as well. His defense has been better-than-expected as well, including a web gem on Sunday.

With Arenado returning, it immediately raises questions about how the club will get at-bats together for their young guys, especially Gorman. Has Gorman shown enough to warrant consistent at-bats is another question as well.

This question also blends into the overall future of Arenado. After this season, he has $31 million left on his deal across two seasons, per Spotrac. That's what makes things tricky. Part of the reason he wasn't traded was because of the money that was left on his deal. Now, there's less than one year ago, but that's still a hefty chunk.

There are going to be trade rumors about him this offseason. It’s been the case for a year and will continue. So, the playing time question also is important because this upcoming stretch could be viewed as a somewhat tryout for a trade. That's speculation, but if he can play well over the next two weeks before the regular season ends, it would help his case. This upcoming stretch arguably could be the difference between a trade this offseason and sticking around to begin 2026.

How do you balance Arenado’s playing time and the young guys while taking into account the present and also the offseason?

Those are some tricky questions. Fortunately, I don’t have to make them. There have been questions about both Nolans all season and now that will get picked up over the next two weeks.