A potential A’s trade with the St. Louis Cardinals now seems unlikely

It was always a bit of a pipe dream, but on Tuesday night it became more of a reality. St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado released his list of six teams he would accept a trade to due to his no-trade clause, and unsurprisingly the Athletics were not on that list.

MLB.com’s John Denton reports that the teams Arenado would most like to sign are the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels, as well as the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox. Notably absent from this list is the New York Yankees.

Arenado, 33, will enter his age-34 campaign with three years and $74 million owed to him. $32 million of that will be due in 2025, followed by $27 million in 2025 and $15 million in 2026. $10 million of that will be paid by the Colorado Rockies in $5 million Paid in steps in 2025 and 2026.

He’s also coming off a year in which he hit .272 with an OBP of .325 and maintained an OPS+ of 101, putting him just above league average. It was the first season Arenado was not named an All Star since 2014, his second year in the league. Technically he wasn’t an All Star in 2020 either, but due to the global pandemic there was no All Star game.

Defensively, Arenado is still one of the best Gloves in the game, ranking in the 95th percentile of Outs Above Average at +10, despite not having won a Gold Glove since 2022. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Matt Chapman took home honors from the last two seasons.

The fit for the A’s is pretty simple: They need an upgrade at third base and need to add payroll for the 2025 campaign. Arenado meets both requirements. Even if his on-field production continues to decline, his defense would certainly be of use to the Athletics in Sacramento as they target ground-ball pitchers this winter. Strengthening the team’s overall defense was also a priority, and with more ground balls on the way in 2025, that could be an even greater need.

Unfortunately, Nolan Arenado doesn’t want to play in a minor league park, so a potential deal doesn’t have much of a chance unless he changes his mind and waives the no-trade clause.