The Cardinals hopes of trading Nolan Arenado may have been dashed by huge signing

The frozen Nolan Arenado sweepstakes is going to remain that way for a little longer.

According to various industry sources, free agent third baseman Alex Bregman and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a three-year deal. Chandler Rome of The Athletic was the first to report the deal, and Jon Heyman was the first to provide details on the $120 million contract. Bregman's contract includes two opt-outs according to Heyman.

Mark Feinsand continued the reporting when he announced that Bregman had long-term deals of six years and upwards of $170 million, but Alex preferred the higher average annual value with flexibility to re-enter free agency in 2026 and 2027.

Alex Bregman's deal impacts the St. Louis Cardinals and their own All-Star third baseman, Nolan Arenado, directly.

Throughout the offseason, reports have indicated that the Boston Red Sox and Cardinals were strong trade partners. Boston could have moved Rafael Devers to designated hitter or first base, and Nolan Arenado would have been a perfect defense-first third baseman at the hot corner for them. Now, with Alex Bregman going to Beantown, there is zero need for Arenado in Boston.

Moving Arenado would be complicated anyway given his recent performance decline and the remaining $74 million on his three-year deal, but things become even more convoluted now.

There are still four other reported teams who have interest in Nolan Arenado, two of which we know are the New York Yankees and the San Diego Padres. Other rumored teams this offseason have included the Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, and Los Angeles Angels. Perhaps the Houston Astros reach out to John Mozeliak.

It was announced earlier on Wednesday that Anthony Rendon would miss significant time for the Angels due to hip surgery. The Dodgers re-signed Enrique Hernandez. The Yankees may be interested, but they're already pushing uncomfortable limits regarding payroll. The San Diego Padres are always a wild card when it comes to trades. There's a chance that any one of those teams would reach out to the Cardinals to strike a deal for the 10-time Gold Glove winner.

However, Boston signing Alex Bregman all but assures that Nolan Arenado will be a Cardinal on opening day this year. Boston had always seemed like the most obvious landing spot, and with them off the board now, trading Nolan Arenado becomes less likely.

According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals and Red Sox had a potential deal in place had Bregman not taken the short-term deal and signed elsewhere.

It's not a disappointment to see Arenado on the team for at least the start of the 2025 season. In fact, he probably makes the team better by staying. The club's defense will be better than the alternative of running Nolan Gorman at the hot corner, and Arenado could turn back the clock this year and see his pull-side power return.

Where things get complicated would be related to giving young players time. Arenado playing regularly at third base moves Nolan Gorman to second base and Brendan Donovan to the outfield. This likely shifts Lars Nootbaar to center field. Where will Alec Burleson log 500 plate appearances? Is Thomas Saggese guaranteed a spot at Triple-A Memphis now rather than in the majors? Carrying two defense-first center fielders in Victor Scott II and Michael Siani is senseless.

There's still a chance Nolan Arenado gets moved before opening day, but those odds took a big hit Wednesday evening when Alex Bregman signed with the Boston Red Sox. At least we can all say we got to see a future Hall of Famer play a little bit longer in St. Louis now.