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

Los Angeles Angels

Arenado has been open for well over a week now about the need for him to expand his list of teams he'd be willing to go to, but I think comments he made to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch regarding the possibility of going to a non-championship-caliber team are worth noting, and why I wouldn't completely rule out the idea of him ending up with the Los Angeles Angels.

“I understand I can’t nitpick quite as much,” Arenado said while talking in the corner of the visitors clubhouse at Oracle Park. “At the same time, I have a family. I can’t go anywhere just to go anywhere. I can’t do that. I have to make sure I make the right decision for sure, for us. ... I don’t think it’s fair for me to go, ‘I’m only going to this championship-caliber team.’ I don’t think I can do that. Who is to say that team wants me? It’s a two-way street. I understand that.”

The Angels are close to home for Arenado, who is from California and lives there in the offseason. Obviously, they aren't a championship contender, but they do spend a lot of money on their roster typically, and they play in the weaker American League. If Arenado can't find a contender that he really wants to play for, perhaps the Angels could become home for him.

There's also another factor here that I think matters a lot more than you'd expect: Albert Pujols.

Arenado has been very vocal about his love for Pujols, how he idolized him growing up, and his favorite time as a Cardinal was going to work and playing alongside Pujols. At the time of writing this, Pujols is an employee of the Angels and is actually heavily rumored to become their next manager after the Angels let go of Ron Washington. If that's the case, and Pujols does lead the Angels moving forward, I think that would be a massive draw for Arenado.

I do think being on a World Series contender will trump the allure of Pujols and the proximity to home, but depending on how far down his list Arenado has to get before he finds mutual interest, the Angels could become more and more realistic of a landing spot.

There are other teams that I think could be in play that I did not include, like the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, or perhaps a team that comes out of the woodwork. Arenado seems as good as gone from St. Louis, but it will be interesting to see how his market unfolds this offseason.