The St. Louis Cardinals have re-engaged the Los Angeles Dodgers, among other teams, in trade talks for third baseman Nolan Arenado, per MLB.com insider John Denton.
However, the negotiations now come with a twist on the Cardinals’ part. Previously, one of the biggest issues surrounding trade talks had to do with St. Louis expecting Arenado’s next landing spot to take on the remaining $64 million remaining on the All-Star’s contact.
The Cardinals were looking to trade Arenado in order to cut payroll, but if his next team wasn’t willing to take on the majority of his salary, it defeated the purpose. St. Louis almost found a match made in heaven with the Houston Astros, as the team was willing to take on a majority of Arenado’s salary.
The trade fell through after Arenado used his no-trade clause to block the transaction. Though there was some speculation the Astros would still be interested in the 10-time Gold Glove winner later in the offseason, Houston quickly pivoted by signing first baseman Christian Walker.
Now, with less than a week before pitchers and catchers report, the Cardinals are pivoting.
“After failing to make much trade progress elsewhere throughout January, the Cardinals reengaged the Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers about possible restructured deals for the star third baseman,” Denton wrote.
Early in the offseason, Arenado appeared to give a clue surrounding his preferred trade destination. The third baseman posted a series of photos on Instagram along with the song “dodger blue” by Los Angeles rapper Kendrick Lamar.
The song choice sparked a buzz from baseball fans, and there was speculation the Dodgers would trade for Arenado. However, the team never publicly showed interested in Arenado.
Denton told Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain the Dodgers were downplaying their interest.
“I think it’s strong,” Denton said of the Dodgers’ interest. “They know that Nolan would like to be there. That’s his first choice. He grew up in Orange County, he grew up a fan of the Dodgers.”
Denton strongly stated: “Nolan is gonna hold out until the Dodgers tell him ‘No’ to his face.”
With the Dodgers re-engaged in trade talks for Arenado, anything seems possible. General manager Brandon Gomes even said the Dodgers would still consider adding more talent to the roster before Opening Day.
“On the other front, you never say never and we’ll continue to be opportunistic at looking at places at how to round out the roster,” Gomes said. “But we feel very happy with what we’ve done to this point. And if spring training started tomorrow, we feel like we’d be in a very good place.”
