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Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff WriterDec 10, 2024, 04:12 PM ET
- Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
DALLAS — The agent for Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado said Tuesday there is “ongoing” discussion with the St. Louis front office as it relates to a potential trade of the 8-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner, who is willing to switch positions to help facilitate a deal.
Arenado, 33, could be on the move as the Cardinals enter a transition phase and are unlikely to compete for a playoff spot in 2025.
“Nolan wants to win, and there’s more details, but that’s really between them and I don’t want to have any effect on what (Cardinals president of baseball operations John) Mozeliak is trying to do,” agent Joel Wolfe said from the winter meetings. “Nolan’s willing to strongly consider it, if it’s the right place to go, but he’s not going to go just anywhere.
“He has a full no-trade clause, so he has that right, and he’s a veteran player and we hope something good happens, but he’s not going to approve and move his family and go play (just anywhere).”
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Arenado has offered to play first base if it helps the trade process, and the Yankees are among the interested teams. New York could still play him at third by moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base, assuming free agent Gleyber Torres doesn’t re-sign.
Arenado hit just 16 home runs in 2024, the fewest since his rookie year in 2013. He’s owed $74 million over the final three years of his contract.
“Nolan was like, ‘I’ll play shortstop, I’ll do whatever, but I’m not insulted to go play first, and I can win a Gold Glove over there,'” Wolfe said.
Wolfe also said another client, Chicago Cubs outfielder/designated hitter Seiya Suzuki, has been approached about a trade. Like Arenado, he has a full no-trade clause.
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has kept in contact with Suzuki’s camp throughout the winter.
“I talked to (Hoyer) about it (Monday) night,” Wolfe said. “He told me what teams they’ve been talking to. I don’t think he wants to trade, but there may be a scenario where he feels like he has a deal that he can’t say no to.”
The Boston Red Sox have been looking for right-handed hitting, while the Seattle Mariners want to improve their offense overall. It’s unclear if Suzuki would waive his no-trade clause for either team.
Suzuki compiled a career-high 138 OPS-plus in 2024, a number that has gone up in each of his first three big league seasons. He has two years remaining on a five-year, $85 million deal he signed with Chicago before the 2022 season.
Complicating matters is Suzuki’s position on the field. By all accounts and metrics, he did not have a good year on defense in 2024 and ended the season as the team’s regular designated hitter.
According to Wolfe, it doesn’t sound like Suzuki wants to remain in that role.
“I think that if he was being posted in Japan (now) and teams were presenting to them their opportunities and they said you could come here and be our full-time DH, I don’t think he would have signed with that team,” Wolfe explained.
It’s also unclear if promising Suzuki the chance to play the field would entice him to waive his no-trade clause. The Cubs could inform him that if he’s not traded, he’d be their full-time DH, which might make the difference. The team is likely to trade either Suzuki or lefty Cody Bellinger.
“It’s a small universe where Seiya would consider going,” Wolfe said.
