Though the Chicago Cubs have scored more runs than any National League team besides the Los Angeles Dodgers, one position that has not been up to par is third base.
The hot corner was originally supposed to be manned by top hitting prospect Matt Shaw, who won the job out of spring training, but he was optioned back to Triple-A after hitting just .172 in his first 68 plate appearances. Since Shaw’s demotion, the Cubs have cycled between Jon Berti (.532 OPS), Justin Turner (.487), Nicky Lopez (.349) and Gage Workman (.552) but have yet to find any sort of consistent offensive production.
Though it hasn’t yet dragged down the rest of the lineup, finding an answer for their third base woes will be a primary focus of the Cubs at the trade deadline. Yet with so many teams hovering around playoff contention and so many obvious sellers devoid of talent, trade options for the Cubs may be limited. ClutchPoints’ Garrett Karman believes this could lead the Cubs down a previously unthinkable path: Trading with the archrival St. Louis Cardinals for eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado.
“The Cubs’ perfect Nolan Arenado trade proposal is a bold but necessary step for both franchises,” Karman wrote. “Chicago gets the superstar third baseman who can push them over the top, while St. Louis secures the young talent and financial flexibility they need to build for the future.”
Though the Cardinals sit just a game behind the Cubs in the National League Central, there are a number of reasons why they could still look to move Arenado. They were desperate to offload the remaining three years and $52 million of his contract this offseason, even trading him to the Houston Astros before Arenado vetoed the trade, and his up-and-down performance hasn’t done much to change his outlook. Though their winning streak has vaulted them back into contention, they still feel like a team stuck in the middle, and moving Arenado would allow them to give more at-bats to a promising young player like Thomas Saggese, who is hitting .341 in limited action thus far. Throw in the fact that they would receive right-handed pitching prospect Cade Horton, MLB Pipeline’s 35th overall prospect, as well as two other intriguing position player prospects in Kevin Alcántara and James Triantos, and this deal is a no-brainer for the Cardinals.
Though this package may be a bit steep for a 34-year-old third baseman on the back half of his career, Arenado would be a great fit for a win-now Cubs team. Even if he is not the hitter he was during his Colorado Rockies days, he would still represent a massive upgrade over their current options, and he would form the best defensive infield in baseball alongside shortstop Dansby Swanson and second baseman Nico Hoerner.
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