Mariners on the Verge of a Massive Coup: Nolan Arenado’s No-Trade Clause Waiver Could Seal the Deal
According to MLB Network Insider Jon Morosi, future Hall of Famer Nolan Arenado is becoming more “open-minded” about expanding the teams he’d play for in 2025.
Arenado is currently a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, but with the Cardinals not seriously trying to win in 2025, he wants out. The Cardinals have said they would trade him, but a deal hasn’t materialized since Arenado blocked a trade to the Houston Astros.
Well, apparently with five weeks to go until spring training, Arenado is willing to be less picky about where he goes. Morosi mentions the Mariners and Detroit Tigers as possible new options. The Mariners have a dire need at third base while the Tigers don’t need Arenado, but he would be a potential upgrade over younger, in-house options.
We’ll be honest: This one doesn’t seem to hold a lot of water for the Mariners. The Cardinals want to trade Arenado in order to save money (they owe him $64 million over the next three years), and the Mariners don’t want to take money on. Therefore, it doesn’t seem like they’d be much of a match.
Perhaps if the Mariners are able to offload Luis Castillo’s contract they could absorb the majority of Arenado’s, but beyond that? This feels like fantasy.
The 33-year-old Arenado spent the first eight years of his big-league career in Colorado, becoming one of the best players in Rockies history. As a member of the Rox, he made five All-Star teams and won a Gold Glove Award in all eight seasons. He popped 235 homers with the Rockies, hitting a career-high 42 back in 2015. He led the National League in home runs three times.
He’s now spent four years with the Cardinals, showing signs of decline over the last year. In 2024, he hit .272 but had just 16 homers and 71 RBI. Those were his lowest outputs in each category since the first two years of his career (excluding the shortened 2020 COVID season).
