As spring training opens across Major League Baseball, the Red Sox and Cardinals are reportedly re-engaged on a potential Nolan Arenado trade.
The Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals have been in discussions on and off all offseason regarding a potential trade for third baseman Nolan Arenado, and now that spring training is opening across baseball, the two teams are back at the bargaining table once again, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.
Per Speier, the current hang up is over Arenado’s salary. He has three years remaining on his contract and the Cardinals are responsible for paying $64 million of the $74 million. The remaining $10 million is being paid by the Colorado Rockies as part of the deal that sent Arenado to the Cardinals in the first place.
The Red Sox would prefer that the Cardinals pay some of his remaining salary if he came to Boston, but the sides haven’t agreed upon how much. St. Louis is seeking salary relief as well as a “modest prospect return” from Boston, which has one of the deepest farm systems in baseball.
Arenado is one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball, even though metrics indicate that he is not the hitter at 33 years old that he was in his 20s. An Arenado acquisition would require some defensive shuffling for the Red Sox, who have star Rafael Devers currently manning third base.
Arenado hit .272 last season with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs in 152 games, while sporting one of the best gloves in baseball at the hot corner.
Red Sox Affected By This Team’s ‘Confounding’ Approach To Trading Its Superstars
If you’re hoping to make a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals these days, it sounds as if you’re unlikely to find much common ground.
The Boston Red Sox are involved in high-profile trade talks with the Cardinals, so they’re no doubt aware of what’s going on. Boston has spent the winter pursuing a deal for aging All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado, who St. Louis has said outright they need to get off their roster.
It’s not only the Arenado negotiations, though, that stand out as examples of the Cardinals’ inaction this winter. They haven’t been able to trade anyone away, and for a team that has tacitly acknowledged it’s entering a rebuild, that’s pretty hard to excuse.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan noted that rival executives across the league were bewildered by the Cardinals’ lack of trade aggression in a piece summarizing the state of MLB offseason transactions.
“Why St. Louis hasn’t been more aggressive in dealing its bevy of talent — from Arenado to starters Sonny Gray and Erick Fedde to closer Ryan Helsley to young players (Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman) who have hit a wall — is confounding executives around the industry,”
“If the Cardinals aren’t going to spend — and they haven’t spent a dollar in free agency — surely, the thinking goes, they should leverage the players they’ve got now and start building toward something more.”
With $64 million remaining on his contract over the next three years, Arenado is more expensive than teams will be willing to pay for him straight-up. The Cardinals, according to Passan, have been unwilling to “budge enough” on the amount of money they’re willing to attach to Arenado to move his contract.
The Red Sox seem to be content to wait out the Cardinals until they’re willing to play ball. If Boston gets the money they want, Arenado could very well be joining them at spring training in Fort Myers soon.
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