The St. Louis Cardinals might be having a little fun at the Yankees’ expense. On Wednesday afternoon, veteran infielder Nolan Arenado made a rare three-hour road trip for a spring training game against the Yankees—an unusual move for a 12-year veteran, especially one with nothing left to prove in exhibition action.
It’s hard to ignore the optics. The Yankees are in desperate need of a legitimate third baseman, and the Cardinals have been trying to move Arenado for weeks. Sending him on this trip feels like a calculated way to showcase his bat and glove to a team that could use both.
Arenado’s Decline Is Becoming Harder to Ignore
At 33 years old, Arenado is still a solid player, but the cracks in his offensive production are growing. Last season, he played 152 games and hit .272/.325/.394 with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs. While those numbers aren’t disastrous, they paint the picture of a player who is no longer the slugging force he once was.
His slugging percentage has taken a steep dive, and his wRC+ finished at 102 in 2024—barely above league average. That’s a far cry from the elite bat the Yankees would want anchoring their infield.
The Defense Is Still There, but for How Long?
Arenado’s glove remains his biggest strength. Last season, he put up six defensive runs saved and nine outs above average over 1,268 innings. Those are strong numbers, proving he can still be an impact defender at the hot corner.
The Yankees would certainly love to add a glove like that to their infield, but even his defense has shown slight signs of decline. And if his bat continues trending downward, his value becomes more about name recognition than true production.
The Money Problem
The biggest hurdle in any Arenado-to-the-Yankees scenario is his contract. He has three years left on his deal, and the Cardinals would have to eat a large chunk of the remaining $74 million to make any trade feasible.
Even if they knock it down to around $40 million, that’s still a heavy commitment for a player entering the latter stages of his career. The Yankees have been reluctant to take on long-term money for aging veterans, and that philosophy doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon.
A Tempting, but Unlikely Move
If the Cardinals are trying to bait the Yankees into making a move, they might be out of luck. Unless the price tag is too good to pass up, general manager Brian Cashman isn’t likely to bite.
Arenado would undoubtedly be an upgrade over the Yankees’ current third base battle between Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera, but taking on another fading star isn’t part of their plan. The Yankees might appreciate the reminder that they need a solution at third base, but it probably won’t be Arenado.