Cardinals could revisit talks with NL East contender in mutually beneficial deal

The St. Louis Cardinals are undergoing changes under new Player of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom beginning with the 2025 offseason. The extent of those changes, though, can and should be answered pretty quickly after the World Series and revolve around their likeliest trade piece in Nolan Arenado.

Nolan Arenado could be a fit for a salary dump with the Philadelphia Phillies.

When the Cardinals rescued Nolan Arenado from a rebuild in Colorado, they received arguably the best all-around third baseman in the game. The Cardinals had just moved on from Matt Carpenter as their everyday option at the hot corner and replaced him with a perennial MVP and Gold Glove candidate in Arenado. To soften the blow of the acquisition, the Rockies not only took minimal prospect capital from St. Louis, but they also handed over a hefty amount of cash towards Arenado's contract.

As things now stand, Arenado has two years remaining on his deal with an average salary of about $15 million. With his track record prior to 2024, this would be a steal for a player of his caliber, but his all-around level of play has declined to the point where even that figure is an overpay. Arenado did get his defense back above-average, so he could still pick it at third for a team in need of a bounce-back candidate who will not hurt the team on the field.

A candidate for this would be the Philadelphia Phillies, who are in an interesting spot as a franchise as they have been extremely competitive but are aging with a lot of money tied into their current players. The Phillies currently have 29-year-old Alec Bohm as their everyday third baseman, but it seems like patience has been running thin with him, as his power has not developed to expectations, and his defense at third has been porous. The team has attempted to have him play first base at times, but they currently have Bryce Harper filling that spot most days.

Bohm is a free agent after the 2027 season, but the Phillies have been seen as a team that might tweak their roster, and trading Bohm could help them fill a need elsewhere. If that were to happen, Arenado could jump right into the starting lineup while also not having to shoulder the massive expectations of a middle-of-the-order bat. While Arenado and his contract probably will not return much in terms of prospect value, the Cardinals could look to fill one of their own needs in a deal with Philly.

The Phillies have announced that they are likely to move on from outfielder/DH Nicholas Castellanos this offseason, even if that means an outright release. Castellanos, 33, is coming off of a down year but has put together a decent resume that he could jump into the Cardinals lineup without limiting some of their younger players. Assuming the Cardinals deal at least one player from their current lineup, there would be an opening for Castellanos to take on the everyday DH role for the Cardinals, something they have not had since the NL adopted the DH full-time.

Castellanos is currently scheduled to make $20 million in 2026, the final year of his contract. He did play 143 games in the outfield last season, but is viewed as one of the worst fielding outfielders in the game. The Cardinals look to have their outfield set in one way or another, so he would not be needed in the grass unless something happens to one of their starters. A one-for-one Castellanos-for-Arenado swap would at least be interesting to me, but you have to wonder if the Phillies would want anything else to offset the cost.

The former division rival would provide St. Louis with more power, as he has four seasons with at least 25 homers and has a career-high of 34 he put up in 2021. He can also drive in runs, as his 72 RBIs this season would be second on this year's Cardinals team and his 17 long balls would be good for fourth on the squad. On a one-year deal while St. Louis determines what they have in the organization, Castellanos could be an exciting stopgap for the future.