St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado said he will handle offseason trade efforts differently this time around in hopes of being part of a different organization in 2026.
Arenado told The Athletic he’ll expand the numbers of teams for which he would waive his no-trade clause and will be more open-minded about the process.
Last offseason, Arenado said he would accept trades to just five teams. And then he vetoed a trade to the Houston Astros, one of the teams on the list.
“There are drastic changes that need to happen for me individually and probably with this team,” Arenado told The Athletic. “I’m not a part of those plans for those changes for the team, and that’s OK. I understand that. Obviously, I could come back. That’s always a possibility, so I try to understand that. But at the same time, it looks like it’s best to move on.”
Complicating matters will be that Arenado turns 35 in April and is finishing up the worst season of his career. He has two seasons remaining on an eight-year, $260 million contract.
The eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner is about to complete a season in which he is establishing 162-game season career lows in batting average (.236), on-base percentage (.289), slugging percentage (.371) and OPS (.660).
Arenado has just 11 homers and 51 RBIs in 105 games, with a shoulder injury causing him to miss six-plus weeks.
Still, that’s a sharp drop in production for a player who has smacked 30 or more homers seven times. Five of those seasons were played in the mile-high altitude of the Colorado Rockies’ ballpark in Denver and two occurred in St. Louis.
“The way I played this year, it looks old and washed,” Arenado said. “But I don’t feel that way. My defense is still there. I’m seeing the ball fine. There are some things where my body isn’t in the right spot, and I need to get it there because I still feel like I can be a really impactful player.”
The Cardinals were eliminated from the National League wild-card race on Wednesday night. That marks the third straight season that St. Louis has missed the postseason.
Where the franchise stands is another reason Arenado feels it is time to go.
“I shouldn’t say guys don’t want me back. I don’t think that’s the right way to say it,” Arenado said. “I think I have a good relationship with everybody here. But I think the organization needs to go down a different road. They need to go a little bit younger, they need to let guys play, and play full seasons, not just platoon.
“You’re not going to see what you really have when you’re doing that. It’s hard to explain. I’m in a weird position here, like it’s obvious what’s going on, but I’m also still under contract, so I understand anything can happen.”
