ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Any hope Nolan Arenado is a St. Louis Cardinal for the 2025 season as the franchise transitions into a "reset" phase seems over following the Winter Meetings in Dallas this past week.
Cardinals President of Baseball Operation John Mozeliak admitted to the baseball media this week that it is in the Cardinals 'intention' to try and trade Arenado, who still owed $74 million for the next three years, with $10 million covered by the Colorado Rockies.
"These decisions are not something we ever take lightly, but when you understand the profile of what this team looks like, and after meeting with him in Colorado, he’s not demanding a trade or telling me that I have to do it, but in the best interests of both sides, I’d like to try and find him some place," Mozeliak said.
The possibility of Arenado being traded further deepened following comments made by Arenado's agent Joel Wolfe.
"It’s like his biological clock is ticking," said Wolfe Tuesday at the Winter Meetings. "And if the team’s not winning it's driving him crazy every day, every night all through the offseason. And he takes it so personal, like it’s all on him."
Matt Pauley, who was at the Winter Meetings in Dallas for KMOX Sports, discussed the growing Arenado speculation following the Winter Meetings on Thursday's edition of 'The Gashouse Gang' and says "any last remaining hope he remains a Cardinal is gone."
"John Mozeliak does not say 'it's best for everybody if we find a landing spot for him'," said Pauley. "He has to be 99.999% sure he is going to get a trade done. Coming in, myself included, I think some people were coming in squinting and saying 'ok, what would it look like if they don't get a deal done?'"
"We might as well open our eyes now because a deal is going to get done."
With Arenado, there seem to be some potential trade suitors for the All-Star third baseman, with rumors of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres and New York Mets as potential suitors and other contenders too including the New York Yankees.
However, the Dodgers no longer seem like a fit for Arenado, with The Athletic's Dodgers reporter Fabian Ardaya recently reporting a deal for Arenado "isn't a possibility the organization has considered", while a team like the Padres might be a potential option, but Arenado would have to move to first base, and the Padres are planning to lower their payroll.
Kevin Wheeler highlighted the Red Sox as a potential suitor following The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal suggesting Red Sox as a potential fit for Arenado in a recent article.
"They have a DH spot that can be split between Devers, Arenado, and Casas," said Wheeler. "All three of them can play everyday because they are not committed to Masataka Yoshida at all. If he becomes a fourth outfielder, big deal."
"If they want to get better defensively, adding Arenado at third base, moving Devers to first base and DH with the occasional time at third base makes a lot of sense. The Green Monster makes a lot of sense for Arenado. All those flyouts and to the warning track at Busch Stadium are doubles and homeruns at Fenway."
Click on the player above to listen to Pauley, Wheeler and Bernie Miklasz discuss Arenado on Thursday edition of The Gashouse Gang.
Tune in every weekday at 12 p.m. on KMOX News and KMOX Sports X, Youtube and FaceBook pages to catch Pauley, Wheeler, Miklasz and Tom Ackerman discuss the top sports stories in St. Louis regarding the Cardinals, Blues, Billikens, Mizzou, Illinois, and more.