As the Cardinals continue to pursue trades for their veterans, the Angels have emerged as a possible destination. Nolan Arenado. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic linked the third baseman to the Halos last week, and his teammates Will Sammon and Katie Woo echoed it this week.
There are two potential roadblocks to the Arenado deal, one for each side, though the Angels have finalized their deal. As Sammon and Woo point out, the efforts of St. Alex Bregman again Eugenio Suarez still in the market. Arenado could be a backup option for teams that fail to pursue Bregman and Suarez.
The third state of the Angels was covered by the state of Anthony Rendon. The oft-injured forward has one year remaining on the disastrous seven-year, $245MM contract he signed after the 2019 season. Los Angeles resolved that situation yesterday, agreeing to a restructured contract with Rendon. The remaining $38MM on his contract will be deferred over the next three or five seasons. Rendon will not be back with the team in 2026. After the Rendon news, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register mentioned Arenado as a possible trade option for the Halos.
Arenado is a SoCal native, but that might not be enough for him to waive his no-trade clause to join the Angels. The financial aspects of the agreement will also need to be resolved. St. Louis has managed to move two of its three biggest veteran contracts so far this offseason, but both deals required money attached to a player. The Cardinals sent $20MM to Boston on Sonny Gray deal. They threw in $8MM to finish Wilson Contreras trade, which was with the Red Sox.
Arenado still has $42MM left on his current contract. The original eight-year, $260MM extension he signed with the Rockies expires after the 2026 campaign, but the Cardinals added another year for $15MM after acquiring him. By capitalizing on the Gray and Contreras trade, St. Louis was able to find the first pitchers ready for the MLB Richard Fitts again Hunter Dobbins. The Angels’ system isn’t exactly overflowing with talented starters, but the players love it Mitch Farris, Jack Kochanowiczagain Kaden Dana fit the Fitts/Dobbins mold as small arms with little MLB service time that could contribute to the 2026 rotation.
It’s easy to forget how good Arenado was in his first two seasons in St. Louis. He hit 34 home runs in his debut with the club, then delivered a monster 2022 that put him in the mix for NL MVP. Arenado slashed .293/.358/.533 and led the NL with 7.9 WAR (per Baseball Reference) that year. Team mate Paul Goldschmidt took MVP honors, but Arenado earned his fifth Silver Slugger award and his 10th consecutive Golden Glove award.
Arenado declined steadily over the next three seasons. He provided decent results in 2023, hitting 26 home runs and finishing with a 107 wRC+. His power continued to fade the next year, as he posted a paltry .123 ISO and the first sub-.400 SLG campaign of his career. Arenado went down in 2025, slashing .237/.289/.377 with twelve dingers. He also missed time with a shoulder injury. Arenado’s 84 wRC+ in 2025 was his worst mark since his rookie year in 2013 (excluding the shortened 2020 season).
Despite the collapse at the plate, Arenado remains an above-average center fielder and solid contact hitter. If the cost is cheap enough, he could help an Angels team that is in an unstable position at the hot corner. The Halos relied heavily on it Yoan Moncada again Luis Rengifo in third place last season. Both of these players are now free agents. Current indoor options are Christian Moore, Oswald Perazaagain Vaughn Grissom. All three could be candidates to play second base, too Kyren Paris and focus on that position. The Angels have been under 10 in OPS at third place in the past five seasons.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images
