The St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly making an aggressive push to trade third baseman Nolan Arenado. With $52 million still owed on his contract, the team is eager to shed salary while acquiring talented prospects to aid their rebuilding efforts. Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer has suggested the Boston Red Sox as potential front-runners for a blockbuster deal involving Arenado, even proposing a hypothetical trade that could benefit both teams.
The proposed trade would include:
Boston Red Sox receive: 3B Nolan Arenado, cash
St. Louis Cardinals receive: 2B Vaughn Grissom, INF Mikey Romero (ranked No. 12 prospect)
“Lest anyone think this erases Rafael Devers, it’s long overdue for Boston to move him to first base,” Rymer noted. “If not, Arenado could embrace playing third base for a new team. His swing is tailor-made for Fenway Park, with its Green Monster favoring right-handed power hitters like him, as confirmed by Statcast’s Park Factors.”
Rymer added that even after the Garrett Crochet trade, Boston’s system remains rich in young position players, giving them leverage in negotiations. He also dismissed the likelihood of a bad-contract exchange involving Masataka Yoshida, citing St. Louis’ unwillingness to engage in such deals.
Under this scenario, Arenado would take over at third base for Boston, pushing Devers to first base. This would raise questions about the role of Triston Casas, a promising first baseman. The Red Sox could opt to rotate Casas and Devers between first base and designated hitter or potentially trade Casas to acquire an ace pitcher.
Grissom, a versatile infielder, showed promise in his 2022 rookie campaign with the Braves. Meanwhile, Romero, a 20-year-old prospect, is known for his well-rounded game and above-average hitting ability.
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