Cardinals fans' suspicions rise as Nolan Arenado makes unlikely trip to play Yankees

If you've ever paid close attention to the kinds of lineups the St. Louis Cardinals roll out when they travel long distances during spring training, it tends to be filled with prospects or fringe MLB players looking to earn a spot on the Cardinals' roster.

Well, the Cardinals are taking a three-hour trip to the New York Yankees spring training facility for their game at noon, and guess who is joining that crew this morning? Nolan Arenado.

And yup, you guessed it, fans and media have their suspicions raised now as well.

Nolan Arenado's trip to play the Yankees today has fans thinking it is an audition for one of his preferred suitors

Brandon Kiley of 101 ESPN had a good note on the situation today, finding that Areando had only played in road games before the final week of spring training in past years that occurred 30 minutes away or less from the Cardinals' facility. But today, Arenado finds himself in Tampa, three hours away from Jupiter.

To be fair, Arenado noted recently that he wants to play in as many games as possible this spring, and manager Oliver Marmol shared with reporters today that Arenado did not want to go two straight days off after not playing yesterday. Maysn Winn, Brendan Donovan, Ivan Herrera, and Luken Baker are also joining Arenado on this trip.

It is also important to remember that two of Arenado's close friends, Paul Goldschmidt and DJ LeMahieu, play for the Yankees and Arenado got to spend some time with them on Tuesday night.

But still, it's hard for fans not to see the fact that it is against the Yankees and since there is another motive for Arenado going to play this specific team. It is widely known at this point that the list of teams Arenado has been open to playing for this offseason includes the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Padres, and Astros, and while he's rejected advances by Houston so far, New York appears to be a team he is still open to playing for.

Arenado has made it clear since he reported to camp that he is present with his teammates and looking forward to being a Cardinal this year, but both Arenado and John Mozeliak have not ruled out a deal happening at some point.

While I'm guessing Arenado would welcome trade talks to progress with the Yankees, my guess is that Arenado is seeing this as an opportunity to hang out with his close friends and get more work in. It's not the fun, flashy rumor fans want to hear, but it is probably closer to the truth than this being a ploy to get the Yankees' attention.

We'll keep following the situation as things unfold. If you thought the saga was over for now, well, be ready for more Arenado talk as camp unfolds (or until a deal is finally made).