Former MLB star believes Cardinals could trade Nolan Arenado to Yankees

The Cardinals escaped Houston with a win on Wednesday to come back to within two games of .500., but then immediately dropped game one of their four-game series to the Colorado Rockies.

In about a month, the trade deadline will have come and gone. As of now, the Cardinals are stuck in the middle, with no clear direction on where they'll go next. If they're sellers again, they'll be unloaded some big pieces.

One such piece could be Nolan Arenado, despite his early-season struggles. He does have a no-trade clause in his contract, so that may complicate matters. But former MLB star Eric Hosmer predicted that the Cardinals could find a new home for Arenado with the Yankees if they decide to sell.

"You look at St. Louis with that +3500 (odds to win the NL pennant), if they lose a couple of games here before the deadline, the Yankees need a third baseman," Hosmer said. That would be very interesting to see if something would shake out of that."

Former MLB star thinks Cards could trade Arenado

This could be an interesting scenario. I wrote a couple of pieces recently about a potential Arenado deal. I originally thought he could be packaged with Ryan Helsley to the Yankees, but then he began to struggle.

Now, I think the only way the Cardinals can trade Arenado, assuming he's willing to waive his no-trade clause, is if they pull off a swap with another team, similar to when they traded Scott Rolen for Troy Glaus back in 2008.

The Yankees could be a team that the Cardinals discuss these matters with. But with the way he's performed this season, with the exception of yesterday when he homered in Houston, he's not going to generate a massive haul for the Cardinals like he would have last season.

If the Cardinals go this route and trade him to the Yankees, I could see them doing so by swapping him for somebody like D.J. LeMahieu or even Oswaldo Cabrera. They could also potentially grab Clayton Beeter, who they've been linked to in the past in such a deal.

But again, this won't be a blockbuster deal by any means. I think it's most likely that it'll simply be a swap for somebody like Cabrera or LeMahieu. The deal would help the Yankees by netting them a third baseman but could also help the Cardinals by clearing out the logjam on the position player side.

We'll see if anything materializes before the deadline or if the Cardinals hold onto Arenado.