Nolan Arenado’s regression has coincided fairly spectacularly with the Cardinals’ receding as a franchise, with his 2023 opt-out clause serving as a pivot point. Arenado stayed in St. Louis because he believed the Cardinals would return to competing for championships. Instead, they went 83-79, and he posted a barely-average 101 OPS+, his lowest in a full season since … the year prior, when he’d slipped year-over-year from 151 to 108.
Now, Arenado’s available as the Cardinals embark on a teardown, and while it’s no guarantee he’ll be dealt, the Cards would obviously prefer to clear his roadblock of a contract, all things being equal. He’s set to count $25.55 million against the luxury tax for each of the next three seasons, a reasonable amount for a team that can handle it, but a tough pill to swallow for a club that’s also trying to lure a $50 million/year right fielder.
That doesn’t seem to have deterred Arenado from making himself an option for the New York Yankees, though.
According to the latest from Katie Woo of The Athletic, the 10-time Gold Glover and future Hall of Fame third baseman is open to moving to first base in the interest of creating flexibility for whichever team acquires him. The Yankees just so happen to be moving on from their own former NL Central star at that position. It simply … makes you wonder.
Yankees Rumors: Nolan Arenado seems open to filling NYY needs in trade
Arenado as a Juan Soto supplement, testing his Gold Glove at first base, would be extremely intriguing.
A 34-year-old Arenado in place of Soto, trying a new position and absorbing the money that had previously been earmarked for a generational talent? That sounds Josh Donaldson-ish.
“League-average offensive production with spectacular defense” would be a marked upgrade from what the Yankees have run out at first base for the past season-and-a-half, post-Tatis crash. Still, it doesn’t sound like the most efficient use of $25 million annually, and unless the Yankees can obtain Arenado for a fraction of the expected prospect cost by absorbing the whole chunk of salary, it likely isn’t going to happen.
But … is there a world where the Yankees send Will Warren, a low-level lottery ticket and Marcus Stroman’s money for Arenado, as the Cards pay Stro for 2025/2026 but remove a 2027 commitment from their payroll (and save $7 million per season)? Is there a world where the Yankees block Arenado’s trip to Boston and Rafael Devers stays at third base, butchering every grounder he faces against non-Yankee teams? There could be a world. That world might be nice.
