According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado, who is expected to be traded this offseason, could be a fit for the Los Angeles Angels on the trade market.

Arenado, meanwhile, is a possibility for the Los Angeles Angels, who are negotiating a buyout agreement with third baseman Anthony Rendon. No trade is imminent, however. The market for Arenado will become better defined after Bregman and Eugenio Suárez sign their free-agent deals.

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Arenado, who turns 35 in April, is under contract for two more years. His former team, the Colorado Rockies, is paying $5 million of his $27 million salary in 2026, which includes $6 million deferred. He also is owed $15 million in 2027.

Well, the Angels have the longest playoff drought in baseball now, having not made the playoffs since 2014. They have made the playoffs only once in the last 15 years, and while Arenado is not the same player he once he was, he might give them a more representative option at third base as they look to improve.

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Los Angeles finished last in the American League West for the second straight year in 2025, but they have already signed Jordan Romano and Drew Pomeranz this offseason, as well as Alek Manoah. They are trying to improve, though they are mostly doing it with low-budget options and bounce back candidates. Arenado is the latter.

One of the best players of the 2000s, Arenado is a 13-year veteran of the Colorado Rockies and Cardinals. He is a lifetime .282 hitter with 353 homers and 1,184 RBIs. He’s got seven seasons of 30 homers or more, but has seen his production fall over the last few years.

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Now 34 years old and about to be 35, Arenado saw his OPS+ fall to 87 in 2025 while hitting just 12 homers and bringing home 52 runs.

An eight-time All-Star, he is a five-time Silver Slugger, a 10-time Gold Glover and a six-time Platinum Glove winner. He is likely destined for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Not much, though what they get depends on the money situation. If the Cardinals are willing to take on most or all of the contract, they may be able to acquire a better prospect from the Angels. If the Cardinals want the Angels to take most of the money, then they won’t get much at all and the Halos will end up with a very expensive lottery ticket.

For the Cardinals, it seems like all energy is on a possible Brendan Donovan trade. The Silver Slugger finalist from 2025 could be dealt any day now, and he’s one of the best trade chips in the entire league. For Arenado, his market will develop once other options are off the board, as Rosenthal noted.

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