An attempt to keep track of the latest St. Louis Cardinals trade rumors
Yesterday at 09:00 AM
Strongly featuring Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and the New York Yankees
There's been a lot of buzz lately around the St. Louis Cardinals and potential trades, with some pretty interesting names floating around. Nolan Arenado blocked a trade to Houston! The Yankees made a play for Paul Goldschmidt! Let's just say, the reports are flying fast and I, for one, can't keep track of all of them. What I'm saying is I need to close some of these browser tabs. One of them is playing some loud advertisement and I can't figure out which one it is. So, for yours and my convenience, I've rounded up the trade rumors I've been following here to break down what's really going on and what it could mean for the Cardinals.
Nolan Arenado blocked a trade to the Houston Astros
Early this week Arenado invoked his No Trade Clause to block a deal to Houston. Reports indicate this decision might not be final and Arenado might change his mind as the offseason plays out. According to Arenado and his agent, Arenado's preference is to be on a contending team. The Astros trade of Kyle Tucker, their best hitter according to wRC+ at 180, and their seeming unwillingness to re-sign Alex Bregman, who in his nine seasons in Houston amassed nearly 40 fWAR for the team, might not be the signs Arenado is looking for to convince him to move his family to another state.
Per sources: Part of Arenado's decision stemmed from a preference to not make a decision this early in the offseason. It is unclear whether the Astros will continue heavily pursuing Arenado or pivot to other options. #STLCardshttps://t.co/HyI2i8GVDu
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) December 18, 2024
The Cardinals declined an offer from the New York Yankees for Arenado
Per reporting from Mark Feinsand, John Denton and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, the Yankees offered the Cardinals a deal for Nolan Arenado in exchange for Marcus Stroman. After finishing 2024 with a 4.62 FIP, Stroman is headed into his age-34 season in 2025 owed $18.3 million. This does not exactly sound like the type of deal the Cardinals, who have recently declared their intentions to pivot their strategy to focus on drafting and developing the young players, would be very interested in.
Meanwhile the Yankees signed an agreement with Paul Goldschmidt
The Yankees did find a way to sink their teeth into one of the Cardinals cornerstones from 2024, however, landing free agent Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year, $12.5 million deal. The Yankees have clearly shown interest in Arenado — perhaps a reunion is in the cards for these two possibly-former Cards.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt and the New York Yankees are in agreement on a one-year, $12.5 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Goldschmidt adds a strong veteran bat to deepen the Yankees' lineup. First on the news was @JackCurryYES.
— Jeff Passan (@jeffpasan.bsky.social)2024-12-21T17:58:20.366Z
Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers are interested in Erick Fedde and/or Steven Matz
Included in that reporting from Feinsand, Denton, and Hoch was a small tidbit at the end from an unnamed source about starters Fedde and Matz drawing interest from the Guardians and Tigers. Earlier reporting from Winter Meetings on the Tigers indicated that Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg was happy with the depth his team had for starting pitching. Per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press:
"I think we're probably done for now," general manager Jeff Greenberg said Tuesday at the Winter Meetings, located at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. "Tarik (Skubal), Reese (Olson), now Alex, and we have seven or eight additional guys on our roster."
Blue Jays and Diamondbacksare interested in Ryan Helsley
But what team wouldn't be, really? I am sure most teams are kickin' the tires on Helsley with the Cardinals. The Cardinals are on record as not being interested in trading Helsley, perhaps gambling that they might fetch better offers at the trade deadline if the team is not in contention. This disinterest to deal from the Cardinals plus Helsley's performance over the course of the last few seasons probably puts his price pretty high and with other veteran closers on the market in free agency this offseason (like David Robertson or Kenley Jansen) it seems like Helsley is unlikely to move.
So there you have it—just a few of the biggest trade rumors surrounding the Cardinals right now. As always with this kind of stuff, it's a bit of a waiting game. Some of these rumors may fizzle out, others could pick up steam as the offseason progresses, some might have been longshots to begin with. I'll be keeping an eye on any new developments! Happy Sunday!
