As the St. Louis Cardinals explore the trade market surrounding eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado, the veteran third baseman has given the club some assistance in the form of a list of teams he'd be willing to approve a trade to.
Arenado, who has a full no-trade clause in his contract, reportedly would approve a deal to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets or Boston Red Sox, a source told John Denton of MLB.com.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Arenado's agent Joel Wolfe said that the star third baseman doesn't have a geographical preference of where he'd like to play, but that the 33-year-old, who has never won a World Series, is clearly prioritizing a contending team as his next destination.
"A team that he thinks is going to win now and consistently for the remainder of his career," Wolfe told a throng of reporters. "... He wants a team that has the throttle down -- not saying that the Cardinals don't -- but one where he can jump right in and they're going to win right now. ... He's good.
"Nolan's a unique individual, so it's hard to describe his headspace at any one moment, but he's good."
St. Louis, which has missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, has expressed a desire to get younger, and the club's president of baseball operations John Mozeliak acknowledged that a trade of Arenado, who is due to be paid $74 million over the next three seasons, would be a "big help" financially.
Arenado is a 10-time Gold Glove Award winner at third base, and remains an elite defender but has experienced a downturn in production at the plate, posting a .746 OPS across 296 games between 2023 and 2024, the worst mark in any two-year stretch in his decorated career. The Newport Beach, Ca. native is reportedly open to playing first base, at least on a part-time level, to help facilitate a trade to a contender.
It's not clear if Arenado's wish list includes just these six teams, or if there are any others he would be willing to play for. When asked about the number of teams his client would approve a trade to, Wolfe said, it's "bigger than you might think."
It would not be a surprise to see Arenado dealt at the Winter Meetings in Dallas, Tx., which began on December 9 and will span four days.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cardinals' Nolan Arenado Would Approve a Trade to These Six Teams.
