Padres on High Alert: $74 Million All-Star Interest in Joining San Diego Could…

Despite having a full no-trade clause, the St. Louis Cardinals are set on trading third baseman Nolan Arenado as the historic franchise moves into a younger direction.

The Southern California native reportedly has all three teams in the area, including the San Diego Padres, on his list of approved teams. Plus the Phillies, Mets, or Red Sox are on his wish list.

Arenado, who is set to earn $74 million over the next three seasons, holds a full no-trade clause in the contract he initially signed with the Rockies and that was inherited by the Cardinals in 2021. Any potential trade would require approval from him.

The 33-year-old and his agent, Joel Wolfe, have told the Cardinals that the 10-time Gold Glove third baseman is willing to play different positions if it helps secure a trade to a contender.

Wolfe mentioned on Tuesday that Arenado isn’t particularly concerned with geographic location and that the number of teams he would be open to joining is “larger than you might expect.”

“He doesn’t have the ability to ride it out and just be OK with [losing],” Wolfe said of Arenado. “It’s like his biological clock is ticking and if the team’s not winning, it’s driving him crazy – every day, every night and all through the offseason – and he takes it so personal and [acts] like it’s all on him.

“The Cardinals are changing directions, which is fine because all teams do that. So, if that’s the way it is, and they say that [an Arenado trade] might be beneficial – and they have been open and communicative about that – I get it. Now, let’s try and find a place where they are in a different place, and he can jump in and help the team go to the next level.”

While the discussions are ongoing, the All-Star does have a list of teams he is unwilling to go to, and for a few days, the Dodgers were rumored to be linked to him because of a social media post. However, the likelihood of Los Angeles trading for him is slim after general manager Brandon Gomes stated Max Muncy would be the Opening Day starting third baseman.

“It’s more of a, ‘Would you be OK with this team, OK with that team?’” Wolfe said. “We don’t want to waste [John Mozeliak’s] time. There are some hard no’s of where he’d prefer not to go. So, it’s been dynamic in the discussion about how it will work.”