As the MLB offseason draws to a close, with Opening Day just 80 days away, numerous key free agents remain unsigned.
However, free agency is only one aspect of the offseason. The time between the end of the World Series and the first pitch of the season has typically been used by teams to negotiate moves, and in this offseason’s trade market, there is no hotter commodity than St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado.
The eight-time All-Star from Newport Beach, California, agreed to a $260 million contract extension with the Colorado Rockies, the team that drafted him in 2019. Just two years later, the Cardinals acquired him along with a package of prospects and took over his contract.
With two years remaining on Arenado’s contract, St. Louis is desperate to unload him, with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak stating that the organization is beginning on a “reset,” and that it “would be a big help” to dump a contract the size of Arenado’s.
The hitch is that the 33-year-old, 10-time Gold Glove winner’s contract allows him to approve or reject any move. When the Cardinals attempted to trade him to the Houston Astros in mid-December, Arenado exercised his right to veto the proposed deal.
According to a fresh report published Sunday night by the Boston-area media outlet MassLive, that would not be an issue if the Cardinals set up a deal between Arenado and the Boston Red Sox.
“Boston is a preferred destination, if not the preferred destination, for Arenado, a hot trade candidate with a full no-trade clause, according to industry sources,” wrote MassLive reporters Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam on Sunday. “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.”
The MassLive reporters noted, however, that the Red Sox may not be interested in trading for the potential Hall of Famer. The Boston third base job is held by Rafael Devers, whose 10-year, $313.5 million contract signed before the 2023 season makes him the highest-paid player in Red Sox history, and could make the team reluctant to force him to switch positions.
With a new third baseman in town, Devers would likely divide time between DH and first base.
