The Yankees have found their first baseman after signing Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year deal on Saturday. However, he may not be the only Cardinal to wear pinstripes in 2025.
The Cardinals are looking to trade Nolan Arenado and Mark Feinsand, Bryan Hoch and John Denton of MLB.com report that Goldschmidt’s addition to the Yankees could influence the veteran third baseman to waive his no-trade clause for a team up in The Bronx.
The report states the Yankees approached St. Louis earlier in the offseason about a possible deal for Arenado but talks waned once the Cardinals showed no interest in taking on Marcus Stroman’s contract.
Stroman is set to make approximately $18.3 million in 2025 and has a vesting option worth the same amount in 2026 if he pitches 140 innings next season.
Arenado, entering his age-34 season, has three years and $74 million remaining on his deal, but the Rockies — who traded him to St. Louis — is on the hook for $10 million while another $12 million is deferred. That essentially lowers the commitment to Arenado to about $60 million over those three years.
However, Arenado would have to approve any deal. And we saw the third baseman nix a deal with the Astros earlier this week. In that proposed trade, the Cardinals would have paid down an additional $15-20 million, according to MLB.com’s reporting.
Earlier this offseason, Arenado reportedly gave the Cardinals a list of teams he would waive his no-trade clause for. Those teams included the Mets, Angels, Red Sox, Dodgers, Phillies and Padres.
It was also reported that the Yankees felt Arenado was “not a fit” for their roster next season. Circumstances change when needs arise and Arenado would fit well as a Gold Glove third baseman to allow Jazz Chisholm Jr. to return to his natural position at second base.
However, Arenado’s offensive numbers took a dip last season. The eight-time All-Star hit just 16 home runs for the Cardinals in 2024, the fewest since his rookie season in 2013. The troubling power outage also yielded a .719 OPS and 71 RBI, his lowest mark over a full season since 2014.
He was an All-Star in 2023, though, where he slashed .266/.315/.459 with 26 home runs and 93 RBI, so perhaps there’s still some life left in Arenado’s bat and competing for a contending team will bring that out.
If the Yankees were to get Arenado, their infield would be set with Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, Goldschmidt and Chisholm manning the rest of the diamond.