According to Derrick Goold, St. Louis Cardinals’ third baseman Nolan Arenado has not requested a trade from the team.
Tucked within a fantastic story that compares Nolan Arenado’s situation in 2024 to the Scott Rolen saga following the 2007 season, Derrick Goold drops a nugget. In 2007, Rolen, now a member in Cooperstown, requested a trade from the Cardinals. This year, while another All-Star third baseman with years of control and millions of dollars remaining on his contract is in discussion, is much different with Arenado than it was with Rolen a decade-and-a-half ago.
“Arenado has not requested a trade, sources confirmed.”
For as terse of a statement as that is, it speaks volumes about the state of Arenado’s situation.
Nolan Arenado has been listed by numerous pundits, writers, and blog sites as a top trade candidate this offseason. Arenado, who turns 34 in April, is an eight-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glove recipient, and a five-time Silver Slugger. Whenever he decides to retire, he will probably have a spot in the Hall of Fame waiting for him.
The assumption among people wasn’t that Arenado had requested a trade, but rather that he would welcome a trade, at least one to a contending team. The possibility of him requesting a trade was there, but upon first glance at John Mozeliak’s words, it wasn’t obvious that he had done as much. Now, we know that Arenado has not requested a trade from the team.
Nado’s last two seasons haven’t been up to his usual standard. From 2014 through 2022, Nolan Arenado had a .291/.350/.548 slash line for an OPS+ of 128. In 2023 and 2024, he slashed just .269/.320/.426 for an OPS+ of 104. While his defense still grades out at positive, it isn’t as elite as it once was. Interested parties must take into account his age-related decline.
Arenado hasn’t officially requested a trade, so there is clearly some interest in staying with the team through this reset period. While Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray have been reported as players who want to stay here, the same can’t be reported of Arenado, a player who initially joined the Cardinals in 2021 due to the winning culture here.
Nolan Arenado appears to be floating somewhere between “desiring to be traded” and “wanting to ride out the reset”. He hasn’t been openly committed to staying with the team in the way that Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray are, but he also hasn’t requested a trade.
There’s a financial burden attached to keeping Arenado, but his plus defense, veteran experience, and potential for plus offense is still there. There are some positional complications that would arise if he were to remain on the roster, but there is room in the budget, and Arenado’s drive to win in St. Louis may be strong enough yet to carry the rest of the team.
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