The St. Louis Cardinals are planning a “reset” for the 2025 season to free up financial resources for a team rebuild following a lackluster 83-79 finish last year, which marked the second consecutive season the team missed the playoffs and just the ninth time since 2000.
This shift in strategy places the Cardinals’ highest-paid player, third baseman Nolan Arenado, on the trading block, only four years after they traded five players—including three minor league prospects—to acquire the 10-time Gold Glove winner from the Colorado Rockies. Arenado had signed an eight-year, $260 million contract with the Rockies in 2019.
Although Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has expressed his intention to trade Arenado, there’s a major caveat: Arenado has a no-trade clause in his contract. According to an MLB.com report in December, while Arenado is not opposed to a trade, he has a limited list of six teams he would be willing to accept.
Those teams include all three California-based clubs: the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres. Additionally, the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Red Sox also make the list.
Nolan Arenado
However, Arenado still holds the power to veto any trade, even to one of the teams on his approved list. Recently, a well-known Cardinals fan account on X (formerly Twitter) named Cardinals Live suggested that, based on their sources, the chances of Arenado agreeing to a trade to the Red Sox are “high.” Although no formal offer has been made yet, conversations have reportedly taken place within the Red Sox’s front office, especially if other options become unavailable.
The account also mentioned speculation linking Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida to a potential trade for Arenado, although there have been no concrete discussions regarding Yoshida’s name so far. This evolving situation keeps fans and analysts on edge as the possibility of a significant trade continues to grow.
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