The St. Louis Cardinals had a quiet offseason. They were expected to trade a few veteran players as part of their proposed “reset.” However, they were unable to trade Nolan Arenado.
They came close in December, with the Houston Astros willing to take on a chunk of his salary. It wasn’t until Arenado blocked the deal with his no-trade clause that it fell apart.
Now, St. Louis is stuck with Arenado at third base in 2025. However, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report still believes a last-minute blockbuster between the two teams is possible, and has St. Louis acquiring pitchers Lance McCullers Jr. and Miguel Ullola.
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“If the Cardinals do this deal, their primary motivation would be clearing salary.
Whereas they owe Arenado $64 million through 2027, McCullers’ contract has $34.4 million remaining through 2026. As he hasn’t pitched since 2022, there probably isn’t much to be gained from the latter at this point,” Rymer wrote.
“This, of course, is where Ullola enters the picture.
The 22-year-old righty is not a sure thing by any stretch, but he has a plus fastball and he’s fresh off fanning 31.1 percent of the batters he faced in the minors last year. He clearly has ample merit as an upside play.”
The Cardinals could land a solid pitching prospect that gives them another depth option at the minor-league level if they make this deal. It also would open up third base for Nolan Gorman or Thomas Saggese.
Fans could then at least be somewhat convinced that a reset is happening in 2025, like the front office initially promised.
Arenado is an eight-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glover and six-time Platinum Glove Award winner. He struggled at the plate in 2024, posting a .719 OPS and hitting a career-low 16 home runs.
But going to a contender could help him wake up his bat again. It would also allow the Cardinals to go young, as they had originally planned.
Of course, Arenado would have to accept a trade to Houston. It will be interesting to see if the two sides can get a deal done and if Arenado approves it.
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