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Three potential landing spots for Cardinals' Nolan Arenado
With the MLB offseason in full swing, the St. Louis Cardinals have entered a minor rebuild phase, and one of the big names they are rumored to be shopping is third baseman Nolan Arenado.
Coming off the worst season of his 12-year career, the 33-year-old is due a combined $52M over the next three seasons and has already expressed that he would be willing to entertain a switch to first base to help facilitate a trade to a playoff contender.
That said, here are three teams that would benefit the most by acquiring the eight-time All-Star.
Here's where the #STLCards stand on their preliminary trade talks with Nolan Arenado, who is open to playing first base if it will help create roster flexibility for a potential new team.
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) November 26, 2024
More here: https://t.co/RVy9Ktlt6c
Philadelphia Phillies
With the Phillies already shopping their current third baseman in trade talks, adding a player of Arenado's caliber could be the piece that is missing.
With an offensive core that includes first baseman Bryce Harper, shortstop Trae Turner and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, adding Arenado to the mix would give him the protection in the lineup he was missing last season in St. Louis.
Home to one of the best rotations in baseball, the Phillies would benefit greatly by adding one of the best defensive third basemen in MLB history to bolster their defense as they look to repeat as National League East champs in 2025.
Boston Red Sox
After talks of moving star third baseman Rafael Devers to first base, the Red Sox are another team that is a perfect fit for Arenado as they look to contend in 2025.
With a swing that is perfect for Fenway Park, Arenado would instantly upgrade the Red Sox offense and could also see a resurgence in his career after two down seasons.
The Red Sox are viewed as one of the teams looking to make multiple moves this offseason to upgrade their roster. Adding a third baseman with the ability of Arenado should be a top priority for them as they look to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
New York Yankees
After making it to the World Series in 2024, the Yankees are in the market to improve their roster as they look to repeat as American League champions in 2025.
With Jazz Chisholm Jr. playing a majority of his time at third base after being acquired from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline, adding Arenado would allow the Yankees to move Chisholm back to a more familiar position at second base to fill the hole left by free agent Gleyber Torres.
While the top priority for the Yankees remains retaining the services of outfielder Juan Soto, adding a player like Arenado to an offense featuring the reigning 2024 American League Most Valuable Player, outfielder Aaron Judge, would be a way to bolster their lineup with or without bringing Soto back into the mix.
More must-reads:
- One team has already increased initial offer to Juan Soto in free agency
- Executives reportedly view one club as 'clear-cut favorite' to sign Juan Soto
- The 'MLB playoff home run leaders' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Brewers righty deserves consideration as dark-horse Cy Young candidate
The Milwaukee Brewers' trade with the Boston Red Sox early in the season flew under the radar. The Brewers acquired former top prospect Quinn Priester from the Red Sox, sending outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez to Boston on April 7. Pitching prospect John Holobetz was sent to the Red Sox on May 5 to complete the trade. Priester had been expected to be a top-of-the-rotation arm, lauded for his athleticism and plus fastball and curve. However, he struggled during his time in the majors in 2023 and 2024, posting a combined 6.23 ERA and a 1.555 WHiP over 99.2 innings, striking out 69 batters with 41 walks while serving up 19 home runs. Despite a solid outing in his only appearance for the Red Sox, Priester remained in Triple-A as nothing more than pitching depth. That changed with his arrival in Milwaukee. He has exceeded expectations, either as a traditional starter or following an opener. Priester has posted a 3.15 ERA and a 1.190 WHiP over his 114.1 innings for the Brewers, striking out 93 batters with 38 walks. Opponents have mustered a meager .228/.294/.382 batting line in 471 plate appearances with just 13 homers. The Brewers' 64-48 record entering Tuesday is the best in the majors despite a nondescript rotation. While Freddy Peralta is a top-of-the-rotation arm in his own right, staff ace Brandon Woodruff missed all of 2024 and most of the first half of 2025. Pitchers such as Chad Patrick, Tobias Myers and Jose Quintana are back-of-the-rotation arms at this point. The Brewers needed someone to step up with Priester being the unlikely hero. Pitchers Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler are the prohibitive favorites to win the National League Cy Young Award. BetMGM does not have Priester listed as one of the 10 most likely candidates to take home the hardware. However, Priester's performance, coupled with the Brewers' success this season, is worthy of attention. If he can continue to perform at this level, Priester deserves at least some consideration on the ballot.
Kevin Love reportedly has preferred buyout destination
Kevin Love is eyeing a return to his roots. The five-time NBA All-Star big man Love has a preferred destination on the buyout market, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported on Tuesday. Love would like to end up in Los Angeles. Now 36 years old, Love spent the last two-and-a-half seasons with the Miami Heat. He averaged just 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds over 10.9 minutes per game in 2024-25 but still managed to shoot 35.8 percent from three on the year. Earlier this summer however, the Heat traded Love to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team blockbuster deal. Now Love, a 17-year NBA veteran, is pursuing a contract buyout from the rebuilding Jazz. Though he is a native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Love played his college ball in Los Angeles at UCLA. He also has ties to both L.A. teams — he won an NBA championship with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and was also coached on that team by Tyronn Lue, who is now head coach of the L.A. Clippers. Both the Lakers and Clippers are currently sitting at 14 guaranteed contracts each. While they still have spots for two-way and Exhibit 10 players, that means the Lakers and Clippers are both down to their final open roster spot. The ex-rebounding leader Love still has some value, though probably more so as a jokester than as a contributing rotation piece. While Love clearly wants a homecoming to Los Angeles, he may have some convincing to do for either the Lakers or the Clippers to give him that final open roster spot.
Jerry Jones vocal in defense of handshake deal not being honored by Micah Parsons
Jerry Jones seems to be a firm believer that a handshake deal is as binding as any written contract. The Dallas Cowboys owner has maintained his stance that he had reached a verbal agreement with Micah Parsons on a contract extension back in March. On Tuesday, Jones was asked by NFL Network’s Jane Slater about the agreement not being put in writing. The 82-year-old claimed his initial acquisition of the Cowboys in 1989 started with a similar handshake deal. “I bought the Dallas Cowboys with a handshake,” Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “It took about 30 seconds. I gave the number, shook hands, the details we worked out later. As a matter of fact, one of the details involved a lot of money and I had to flip a coin over that. But the fundamental, ‘I’m buying and you’re gonna sell it to me for that range,’ that’s done. And those are done with eye contact and handshake. “Just so you understand the way that I communicate with people that I negotiate with. Let’s leave it at that. There’s no question that in the case of a player contract, you have to have it in writing. All parties do. We have a contract in writing, yet we’re still talking about renegotiating, so so much for that.” Parsons does not deny that he talked about contract terms with Jones in March. However, the star linebacker claims that he did not believe the conversation to be a formal negotiation. Parsons asserted in his trade request statement that he believed the conversation was going to be about team leadership before Jones shifted gears to talk about an extension. You can read more about Parsons’ side of the story here.
‘Probably the best pure pass rusher on the team’ — Jaelan Phillips hypes up a young Dolphins teammate who has yet to play his first NFL snap
The Miami Dolphins' pass rush is going to serve as one of the key engines for the 2025 season. The EDGE room boasts plenty of natural ability, as the Dolphins are home to three former first-round picks — Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, and Chop Robinson. Miami has plenty of reason for excitement around this group, as the Dolphins were completely without Chubb in 2024 and Phillips missed all but three and a half games. But according to Phillips, Miami sorely missed another member of the pass rush room last season — yet another name who missed all of 2024. Phillips, during his Tuesday press availability, credited young second-year pass rusher and former undrafted free agent Grayson Murphy as "the best pure pass rusher on the team". Former first-round pick Jaelan Phillips heaps heavy praise for Dolphins second-year pass rusher 'Grayson (Murphy) is probably the best pure pass rusher on the team, in my opinion.' - Jaelan Phillips on second-year UDFA pass rusher Grayson Murphy Talk about some hefty praise. Murphy was a splash player for the Dolphins in training camp and the preseason in 2024, only to suffer an injury and get placed on injured reserve after the first preseason game of the year against Atlanta. He's back and looking to make the team in 2025 amid the healthy competition at the top of the depth chart. The crazy thing about a statement like Phillips' comments is he may not be wrong. Murphy didn't go undrafted because he wasn't athletic enough or he lacked football IQ. Murphy went undrafted out of UCLA in 2024 in large part because he had a significantly shorter arm-length than what most teams would consider to be the desired "threshold" to be drafted. Murphy's arm length measured in at 30.50", with a 76" wingspan at his Pro Day at UCLA in 2024. Those numbers are zeroth-percentile (not a typo!) and second-percentile respectively amongst all EDGE defenders to pass through the pre-draft process since 1999. There's short arms and then there's where Murphy measured in. As a result, he was bucketed as an outlier and likely taken off many draft boards for the risk. The list of players with that little anatomical length to have success rushing the passer in the history of the NFL is pretty short. But here's the rub — you don't make it to the NFL and you don't play at a major college program with those severe physical shortcomings without making up for it with other elite qualities. Murphy tested well at his Pro Day: he ran a 4.66s 40-yard dash, posted a 37" vertical, jumped 10'05" in the broad jump and posted a 7.10s three-cone drill. Those a great numbers for an EDGE defender. But it's the football IQ that's allowed him to make it as far as he has. Murphy, in two seasons at UCLA, posted 108 pressures on 616 pass rush attempts. It's equal to a healthy 17.5% pressure rate. Despite his lack of reach, he showcased a variety of pass rush counters and hand maneuvers — because he had to in order to secure wins as a player. Sure, he had a twitchy first step and could turn the corner on tackles. But most players who are lacking in physical traits in some way can't lean on them as a crutch, so they have to develop and refine the other elements of their game. From that perspective, Phillips may be right. Phillips and Chop Robinson were both 5-star recruits coming out of high school. Their athleticism allowed them to win with raw ability for longer and deeper into their careers. Bradley Chubb played at North Carolina State and boasted 34" arms with heavy hands. Grayson Murphy was a 3-star transfer out of North Texas. You're darn right he's an instinctive, technical pass rusher. And in the case of Jaelan Phillips, it takes one to know one.
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