While it remains unclear whether or not the Red Sox are strongly interested in acquiring Cardinals star third baseman Nolan Arenado, if they do mount a pursuit of the eight-time All-Star, he won’t stand in the way.
Boston is a preferred destination — if not the preferred destination — for Arenado, a hot trade candidate who has a full no-trade clause, industry sources said Sunday. The 33-year-old has already invoked that clause to control his future once, blocking a trade to Houston in late December. If the Red Sox and Cardinals were to match up on value, there would be no hesitation on Arenado’s end to accept the deal.
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has made it clear to the industry that Arenado, who is under contract for three more seasons, is widely available and St. Louis has been trying to trade him all offseason in an effort to cut payroll. So far, the Cardinals have been able to find a suitor in part because of a failure to match up with clubs and in part because Arenado was not sold on the idea of joining the Astros, who since the failed deal have pivoted by adding first baseman Christian Walker and third baseman Isaac Paredes. It’s expected St. Louis will continue to do everything it can to extract fair value for Arenado before Opening Day in an attempt to get a deal done.
Arenado is an imperfect fit for the Red Sox, who have star third baseman Rafael Devers entrenched at the position, and so far this offseason, team officials have adamantly stated that Devers remains the club’s third baseman for the foreseeable future. Quietly, though, there has been a desire all winter to pursue potential infield changes as the Red Sox have explored the markets for both Arenado and top free agent Alex Bregman. While Bregman would likely shift to second base should a Red Sox match materialize, Arenado — a 10-time Gold Glover at third base — would almost certainly not move off the position. That means the Sox may move Rafael Devers to first base to replace the incumbent Triston Casas.
Despite chief baseball officer Craig Breslow ardently denying that the club was shopping Casas earlier this week, there remains a belief in the industry that the Red Sox remain open to trading Casas, potentially for young pitching, to facilitate other roster maneuvering. The Red Sox have discussed Casas with the Mariners and other clubs this winter but have not lined up on a deal.
“I’m not totally sure where it comes from,” Breslow said Monday when asked about Casas being involved in trade rumors. “We’re not shopping Triston. We see him as a guy that can hit in the middle of the lineup for a really long time here in Boston. Obviously, plus power, plus strike zone judgment, the ability to get on base, and it’s someone that I don’t think we’ve seen the best of. He obviously missed a number of months during the season. We’re really excited for him to be completely healthy. He’s had a full healthy offseason.
“When you have really good young players, I don’t think it’s surprising that other teams would ask about them. But I’ve seen some of the speculation about what what deals may or may not have existed or what may or may not have been proposed. And there was nothing that was remotely close. We’re certainly not shopping him.”
After trading for Garrett Crochet and signing Walker Buehler to solidify their rotation already this winter, the Red Sox’ main focus is now on adding a right-handed bat before Opening Day. Arenado, whose profile projects well at Fenway Park, would provide that right-handed pop while giving Boston one of the best defensive infielders in baseball history at a time when infield defense is also a priority. His contract is a complicated one as Arenado is due $32 million in 2025, $27 million in 2026 and $15 million in 2027 — or a total of $74 million over the next three years — but the Rockies are paying $5 million in each of the next two years (but not the third). If the Cardinals did not pay off any of Arenado’s salary in a deal, the Red Sox would be on the hook for $64 million — $27 million in 2025, $22 million in 2026 and $15 million in 2027 — over the next three seasons with some of that money deferred.
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