With the St. Louis Cardinals falling well short of expectations this season, it’s sparked speculation the likes of Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, Tyler O’Neill, Jordan Hicks, Dylan Carlson and Nolan Arenado could become available at the MLB trade deadline on August 1.
Flaherty, Montgomery and Hicks may be the most likely to get traded due to an abundance of teams being in search of pitching upgrades. But Arenado offers All-Star pedigree as one of the top players at his position.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Cardinals make for ideal trade partners on paper due to the current state of their respective teams, and Arenado could become a factor in that.
According to ESPN’s Alden González, the belief is Arenado would waive his no-trade clause in order to be sent to the Dodgers:
The Cardinals aren’t expected to trade Arenado at the moment, but the Dodgers have the type of young talent — particularly pitching — to sway teams in a situation like this. Arenado has a full no-trade clause, but he grew up in Southern California and the expectation is that he would waive it for a team like the Dodgers.
The Colorado Rockies signed Arenado to an eight-year, $260 million contract in February 2019. That came with an opt-out clause after the 2021 season and another one was added for 2022 due to Arenado waiving his no-trade clause for the Cardinals.
Last October, Arenado declined to opt out of the remaining five years and $144 million to stay contract through the 2027 season. He retained another no-trade clause as well.
Despite the Cardinals being in fourth place of the National League Central, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has made it clear the team will not have a fire sale. Mozeliak’s comments suggest an Arenado trade at the deadline is unlikely.
Dodgers interest in Nolan Arenado
The Dodgers have been linked to a potential Arenado trade for a handful of years, although the perception was the Rockies refused to deal him within the NL West, much less to L.A.
It was presumed the Dodgers would look to sign Arenado as a free agent, but he then agreed to a long-term contract extension with the Rockies.
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