Nolan Arenado's cryptic Instagram post may reveal his trade destination

The social media age has transformed the way we interact with professional athletes for years now, including when they decide to drop little hints about how they are feeling about their current situations. St. Louis Cardinals' third baseman Nolan Arenado may have done just that with his latest Instagram post.

After reports heated up this past week that Arenado would likely be traded this offseason, Arenado made a cryptic post on his Instagram with a song choice that has caught many fans' attention. The song Arenado selected is called "dodger blue" by Kendrick Lamar, and now has all of the social media platforms going crazy about a potential Arenado trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Arenado was one of the few athletes in today's age not to be on social media for a long time, but he joined Instagram earlier this year and has had a few different posts blow up due to their potentially cryptic nature.

Now, as always with these kinds of posts and speculation, we need to be very aware of the fact that this could be nothing. Maybe Arenado is just having fun and stirring the pot? Maybe he did not realize what kind of news this would make? Maybe he'd like to be traded to the Dodgers but they are not interested in him?

Personally, I do think Arenado knew what he was doing here, and he's likely teasing a bit about his "preferred" destination in a trade this offseason. The Dodgers have had an interest in Arenado for a long time, and we just saw with Tommy Edman the Dodgers' long-time interest in him finally pay off.

I have personally not been sold on the Dodgers as a likely destination for Arenado due to their current options in the corner infield spots and DH. Max Muncy had a great year for them at third base and is under contract for $14.5 million in 2025, and obviously Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani are going to stand pat at their positions of first base and designated hitter. It's hard to see how Arenado fits into that equation, but we all know when the Dodgers want something, they'll make it happen.

A recent report from The Athletic's Katie Woo indicated that Arenado is willing to play first base or play third base less to make a trade happen. While this does not impact his fit with the Dodgers, it does show how serious he is about making a trade happen to the right team. It's long been speculated that Arenado wants to play with the Dodgers, and I am sure his interest has not wavered.

The Cardinals do want to get a real return for Arenado, but the third baseman does hold a no trade clause that complicates the situation. If Arenado is only willing to go to a few teams, the Cardinals will have to bend to his interests. It will be interesting to see how motivated they are to move him, and if the offers will be good enough to make it happen.