Angels are not like the others on Cardinal Arenado’s list

The Cardinal Nation mostly gets it. Disliking what got the Cardinals here isn’t the same as understanding what needs to be done now.

A rebuilding team embracing a youth movement wants to cut payroll and create more opportunities for young players while ensuring the mood in the clubhouse is as positive as possible in 2025.

Arenado and his agent Joel Wolfe, who has been speaking for Arenado lately, sound like they’re in the game. The list of places where Arenado would consider waiving his no-trade clause is not overwhelming. Cooperation is present.

So we’ll wait and see which of the teams on Arenado’s list will make it least painful for the Cardinals, who have already had to give up their pride to go down this path but would at least like some significant salary relief – or an interesting name – back – to relieve the burning sensation.

But while we wait, one thing is strange. Too strange to just ignore. Maybe it tells us something too. All of the teams Arenado reportedly wants to join make sense – except for one.

The Yankees without Juan-Soto makes sense. It makes sense for the Astros to move forward without Alex Bregman. The Phillies being loaded with big names who need to win big before it’s too late makes sense. And so forth.

But the angels? They don’t make any sense. At least not if you believe Wolfe’s winter meetings, in which he portrays Arenado as a player who is focused on winning now, before it’s too late.

Wolfe would have us believe that location has nothing to do with it. He wants us to believe Arenado is going to Mars when there’s probably a ring there. He also wants us to think that if there isn’t a play that doesn’t set his client up for a great championship opportunity, then his client will be fine settling back in and playing here.

Sorry, I don’t buy that. Not quite.

Not when the angels keep showing up. MLB.com has reported that the Angels are on the list of teams Arenado would consider waiving his no-trade clause to join. The Orange County Register has reported on the possible suitability, calling it unlikely but perhaps increasingly realistic if higher-performing teams decide against making desirable offers to the Cardinals.

I find that interesting. Maybe it’s legit. Maybe that’s not it. These anonymously compiled lists of potential trading partners are always a bit nebulous.

The angels don’t match, but according to multiple reports, they are there. I wonder if their presence is silent evidence that Arenado is more eager to leave St. Louis than he and his agent suspect. Arenado definitely wants to win. But if not, maybe he would just go home?

The Angels’ inclusion illustrates why I am careful to tell Cardinals fans that the idea of ​​a non-traded Arenado showing up to spring training with the Cardinals is probably not a good idea for him or the team. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can derail what is supposed to be an optimistic youth movement like a veteran feeling left out.

Maybe Arenado doesn’t really want to play for the Angels. But if he would rather play for the Angels than the Cardinals, he shouldn’t play for the Cardinals.

Yes, Arenado is from California. Yes, there is a street named after him less than 25 miles from where the Angels play ball. Yes, being close to home is important for everyone, including professional athletes. But come on.

Among active players, Arenado was perhaps most excited about how the Angels handled the firing of Albert Pujols before the two became teammates in St. Louis. And the Angels aren’t ready to win big – because the Angels never win. Nine defeats in a row and counting.

The Angels have not finished better than third in their division since 2017. They haven’t been to the postseason since 2014, and that was their only trip there since 2009. They haven’t advanced beyond an American League Championship Series since winning the World Series in 2002. That’s their only championship. They have since become her fourth manager.

Mike Trout is making one postseason trip with the Angels in 14 years. Pujols had one postseason trip in 10 years with the Angels. Shohei Ohtani never had a postseason hitting attempt (or starting pitching) in his six years with the Angels. Trout, Pujols and Ohtani were Angels teammates with nothing to show before parting ways.

I can understand why the Angels would want Arenado. Compared to the more than $76 million that current Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon is due over the next two seasons, Arenado’s $74 million over three years seems like a bargain. In addition, unlike Rendon, Arenado stays on the field and does not speak publicly about the fact that baseball is just a job for him.

What I can’t imagine is that Arenado is in every way open to becoming the next big star who goes to the Angels to disappear. It nearly tarnished Pujols’ career until the Dodgers and then the Cardinals stepped in to save him late in the game. But at least Pujols got paid seriously. Given the cost of living and taxes, Arenado would take a pay cut to become an Angel. Shot.

I hope it’s wrong for his legacy, and I’m betting the rebuilding Cardinals reach the World Series again before the Angels do.