Could Nolan Arenado be a good fit for the New York Mets?

The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to reduce their payroll this offseason, hoping to rebuild a once thriving player development system. The Cardinals currently have the most significant contract with Nolan Arenado.

John Mozeliak, the Cardinals' president of baseball operations, told the media that Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray have committed to staying with the organization. He did not specify whether Arenado or Miles Mikolas, who also has a full no-trade clause, expressed a desire to stay or be traded, but he did say he had some players he would be shopping in the trade market.

Arenado is owed $74 million over the next three seasons, with the largest chunk in 2025 at $32 million. The Colorado Rockies paid him $5 million.

One team that could take on that salary is the New York Mets. Their projected payroll for 2025 is $157,454,000. Mets owner Steve Cohen will likely add some talent this offseason, as their only projected starting pitcher is Kodai Senga. Mark Vientos is positioned on the Mets' depth chart to play first and third base after the departure of Pete Alonso.

Arenado would solve the infield issue, allowing Vientos to take over at first base. Vientos is still under team control and will hit his first season of arbitration in 2027 and become a free agent in 2030.

The main question would be if Arenado would waive his no-trade clause to go to the Mets. The guess would be a hard no!

Given New York's vast media market, Arenado would not be comfortable in the city. He has always been uncomfortable talking with the media, even in St. Louis. It would be a must in New York.

The Mets do have Fransico Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Sterling Marte, and several young stars in waiting, but the expectation with bringing in someone of Arenado's stature would be to have him as a leader. While with the Cardinals, Arenado seemed uncomfortable being a vocal leader in the clubhouse, opting to go to Mozeliak to bring in veteran players to help him and Paul Goldschmidt with leadership. The veterans brought in often remained on the bench (think Brandon Crawford and Matt Carpenter), occupying roster spots that could have benefited one of the younger players they wanted to develop at the Major League level.

Arenado likely has a list of places he would approve a trade to go to. New York is missing from that list!