St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado raised eyebrows when, just four games into Grapefruit League action, he decided to take a three-hour trip from the club’s spring training site in Jupiter, Fla., to Tampa for Wednesday’s exhibition game against the New York Yankees, a team who had reportedly inquired about the 10-time Gold Glover earlier this offseason.
Some thought Arenado made the trip to showcase his services to the Yankees. But the Cardinals star, after going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the game, denied that notion.
“I didn’t come here for that,” Arenado told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Day 3 of spring training. That wouldn’t be a good day to showcase myself. I’m not ready for that.”
Instead, Arenado said he made the trip to Tampa to see Yankees friends Paul Goldschmidt, with whom he spent four seasons alongside in St. Louis, and DJ LeMahieu, a former teammate of six seasons with the Colorado Rockies.
Also, Arenado has been on an on-again, off-again schedule to start the spring, something he said he wanted to stick with rather than opt for two days off.
The Cardinals made trading the soon-to-be 34-year-old a priority as they entered this offseason, citing a desire to get younger players more playing time, as well as financial motivations. Arenado is due to be paid $64 million over the next three seasons.
Complicating matters is the full-no trade clause in Arenado’s deal. The eight-time All-Star reportedly had a list of teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Angels, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox, that he would be willing to approve a trade to.
Arenado in December utilized the no-trade clause to block an in-place deal to the Houston Astros.
Speaking to reporters earlier in February, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak preached “patience” when it comes to a potential Arenado trade.
“Could something happen in the next week? Possibly. Could this go into camp? Possibly,” Mozeliak said. “So, I don’t have a definitive answer. Patience is required.”
In 12 seasons, Arenado has posted a .285/.342/.515 slash line, belting 40-plus home runs three times while being widely regarded as the best defensive third baseman in MLB. In the last three seasons, however, Arenado’s OPS has dipped from .891 to .774 and finally, to .719 this past season.
With or without Arenado on the roster, the Cardinals will open up the 2025 season against the Minnesota Twins on March 27.
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