After their pursuit of Alex Bregman hasn’t gone as planned, the Boston Red Sox have reopened trade discussions with the St. Louis Cardinals to bring in a righty bat.
Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that trading Nolan Arenado is a “top priority” for the Cardinals this offseason, and the Red Sox are one of the few teams for which he’d waive his no-trade clause. St. Louis president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said there’s no hard deadline to get Arenado traded, but if it can’t move the veteran before Cardinals players report to spring training on Feb. 17.
Some members of Boston’s front office have characterized adding a righty bat as a top priority, but the men in charge remain divided on the team’s need for another right-hander in the lineup. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and team owners John Henry and Tom Werner believe the Red Sox’s top prospects will bring enough pop to the lineup, but manager Alex Cora and president Sam Kennedy believe the bats could use a lift.
The Sox’s indecisiveness makes the Cardinals more desperate to get rid of Arenado than they are to trade for him. That leverage could help Boston get a good deal for the veteran.
Red Sox could burn desperate Cardinals in Nolan Arenado trade
The Red Sox and Cardinals have already discussed a trade for Arenado this winter, but according to John Denton of MLB.com, negotiations broke down after St. Louis wouldn’t agree to pay down $20 million of the veteran’s $64 million contract. Boston hasn’t paid more than $21.05 million for any single free agent transaction this winter, and $64 million — or anything close to it — is well out of the front office’s comfort zone. The Cards will have to agree to eat quite a bit of money to get the Sox into a trade for Arenado.
Denton also reported that the Red Sox’s No. 22 prospect Blaze Jordan has been mentioned as part of St. Louis’ potential return for Arenado. Jordan, a corner infield prospect, doesn’t have the clearest path to the majors in Boston with Triston Casas at first base and Rafael Devers at third, so he makes sense as a trade candidate.
The market for Arenado is being held up by Bregman’s stalling free agency. The Red Sox seem to be holding out hope that Bregman will eventually be willing to sign a short-term deal, but if he never caves, they still have Arenado to fall back on. The Cardinals have also discussed a potential trade of the veteran with the Yankees, though, who would probably not like to have DJ LeMahieu as their Opening Day third baseman.
With just a few days until spring training, Sox fans probably don’t have much longer to wait to see how Boston’s pursuit of either third baseman Arenado or Bregman shakes out. Neither is a perfect fit for the Red Sox, but their righty bats would provide a necessary lift for the lefty-heavy team.
