Trading Nolan Arenado may be less difficult for the Cardinals to manage than feared

Nolan Arenado, barring another no-trade clause veto, is going to be traded this offseason.

The St. Louis Cardinals have admitted as much as they finally get their rebuild properly under way. Chaim Bloom is expected to scrub the roster (and payroll) clean of the team's incumbent veteran leadership, including Arenado.

For the longest while, it's been assumed that the Redbirds would have to eat a chunk of Arenado's remaining salary to grease the wheels on a trade. The 34-year-old third baseman has just two years and $31 remaining on his contract, thanks to the Colorado Rockies' generosity, though his AAV figure still sits at an uncomfortably-high $30 million.

However, Arenado's status as a contract albatross may no longer be the case. Thanks to the inflation in the sport over the past few years, Bleacher Report's list of the "10 Most Untradeable Contracts" in baseball doesn't make any mention of the Cardinals' third baseman.

Is Nolan Arenado's contract actually a reasonable deal?

A $15 million salary is hardly a burden in today's baseball economy for a quality starter, which Arenado remains (if only barely).

His defense, though far from its otherworldly peak, is still excellent; Arenado accumulated three Outs Above Average and six Defensive Runs Saved in 2025. And though he hit just .237/.289/.377 (84 wRC+) in his worst offensive showing since the truncated 2020 season, he was above average at the plate as recently as last season (103 wRC+) and a legitimate MVP contender as recently as 2022 (149 wRC+).

A lot of teams need quality third basemen this offseason, and unless they're willing to pay up for Alex Bregman or Eugenio Suarez, they won't find many suitable options on the free-agent market. Is it possible that the Cardinals could actually advertise Arenado as a budget-friendly option compared to those two?

That may be a step too far, but it's clear that Arenado should have a market this winter. Interestingly enough, the Cardinals don't get mentioned at all in Bleacher Report's rankings, as neither Sonny Gray nor William Contreras found themselves the target of value-related indictment.

Now, that partly has to do with the short-term nature of each of their contracts (Arenado and Contreras can become free agents after 2027, while Gray has a mutual option following the 2026 season), but in the face of the impending lockout and uncertainty surrounding the future of the economic law of the sport, that should only appeal more to contending teams.

It remains one of the most prominent stories to follow in Cardinals Nation, but it appears that Nolan Arenado may not be so difficult to trade after all.