5 new teams Cardinals' Nolan Arenado could consider a trade to as he expands his list

Nolan Arenado's time with the St. Louis Cardinals is coming to an end, and if he truly wants to find a new home this offseason, he knows he is going to have to open up his list of potential trade destinations.

Last winter, Arenado told Cardinals' management that there were five teams he would be open to being dealt to: the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, and the Houston Astros. Well, John Mozeliak did pull off a favorable deal that would send Arenado to the Astros, but Arenado confusingly refused to waive his no-trade clause at that moment, despite expressing interest in Houston.

When discussing the potential of a trade again this offseason, Arenado was asked whether or not he'd have to open up the possible destinations, and he acknowledged that would likely be the case.

“I think I have to be,” Arenado said in an interview withThe Athletic.“That’s something I’ll discuss with my agent and my family. I think the discussion I’ll have with my agent for sure is that the list will be different

Today, I wanted to take a look at five different teams I have identified that may appeal to Arenado this offseason for various reasons. He's obviously looking to win, and that's the top priority when expanding his list, but there also has to be a need on that team, and Arenado may also have some geographical preferences.

But first, let's look at two teams from his original list that I believe may end up being fits for him this offseason.

Who could still be interested: Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres

The Los Angeles Dodgers don't seem like a likely destination with how Max Muncy played this year, along with the presence of Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman at DH and first base, while the New York Yankees and Houston Astros just traded for new third basemen at the trade deadline in Ryan McMahon and Carlos Correa.

That leaves the Red Sox and the Padres, who either could be interested depending on how things play out.

Starting with Boston, who had a deal in place to acquire Arenado before they signed Alex Bregman, there clearly was strong interest last offseason, and there is a prior relationship there due to Chaim Bloom. On top of that, Bregman is likely to opt out of his contract this offseason, and while he could resign with Boston, there's a good chance he ends up elsewhere. That would free up third base once again as a need for the Red Sox.

For the Padres, Manny Machado has actually seen pretty significant regression defensively at third base, at least according to multiple advanced metrics. Among the 14 qualified third basemen this year, Machado ranked last in OAA (-6), FRV (-4), and FanGraphs' Def (-1.5), but he did rank seventh in DRA with +3. With Luis Arraez and Ryan O'Hearn hitting free agency this winter, Arenado could take some of the third base load off of Machado next year or take over the position entirely while Machado moves to first base or DH. Arenado was also open last offseason to playing first base.

Now, with those fits out of the way, here are 5 new teams that Nolan Arenado could consider a trade to from the Cardinals this offseason