I Nolan Arenado the saga of trade in St. Jack Martinez. According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, however, the Diamondbacks weren’t the only team to reach an agreement with the Cardinals. Rosenthal reports that the Athletics didn’t just pursue Arenado in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. The deal would have seen the A’s take more money than Arizona was willing to do, Rosenthal notes, but was stymied when Arenado indicated he preferred to go to the Diamondbacks or the Padres and may not have agreed to a deal with the A’s.
The news represents the latest indication of the Athletics’ desire to return to contention before moving to Las Vegas, which is expected to come in time for the 2028 season. Arenado, 35 in April, is under contract for just two more seasons and may not be on the team when the team arrives in Nevada. Still, his addition would be a way for the team to address third base in the short term. A was introduced Jeff McNeil to take over second base earlier this winter, and we already have some impressive players at first (Nick Kurtz), short stop (Jacob Wilson), DH (Brent Rooker), holder (Shea Langeliers) and the outer corners (Lawrence Butler again Tyler Soderstrom). That leaves third base as one of the most obvious areas for the team to improve, and an aging Arenado could offer a higher position than the 23-year-old. Max Muncy instead.
That makes it easy to see why the A’s would be interested in Arenado’s services and, if the team was willing to take a bigger chunk of Arenado’s salary to facilitate a deal than Arizona ended up agreeing to, it’s easy to see why the Cardinals would see the Athletics as an attractive trade partner. Unfortunately for both clubs, however, Arenado was not so happy. The veteran and likely future Hall of Famer has seemed to prioritize playing for a club with more credible ambitions since exercising his no-trade clause the past two seasons, and the A’s aren’t exactly a proven playoff team. Even after advancing last year, the team finished with a 76-86 record that left them in fourth place in the AL West. While that was a slight improvement on last year, it still leaves them far from the playoff spot.
Maybe Kurtz’s perfect season and the development of some of the team’s young players can help them take another step forward, but teams like the Mariners, Astros, and Rangers seem to be going nowhere this year. That leaves the A’s in dire straits in terms of making the playoffs, and Arenado clearly wasn’t motivated to roll the dice on the team. While the Diamondbacks are very unlikely to win the NL West this year because of the mighty Dodgers, they should be in the mix for the Wild Card spot alongside teams like the Padres, Giants, Mets, Braves, and Reds. That field is much thinner than the Wild Card race in the AL, which includes all five teams in the AL East alone.
If the A’s want to consider another potential upgrade at third base, there are at least a handful of other trade options out there. Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan and small cubs Matt Shaw both have the ability to handle the hot corner, but it may be too expensive in terms of replacement cost for the A’s to swing a deal. Maybe the Phillies would agree to a move Alec Bohmbut it seems unlikely that they will do so as it was during their pursuit Bo Bichette. The Astros could look to move Isaac Paredesbut it would be scary to see them trade within the category. Low-level free agents like it Yoan Moncada again Ramon Urias could serve as another way to improve the program, although the A’s have sometimes had trouble attracting players to West Sacramento.
