The New York Yankees appear to be out on acquiring star third baseman Nolan Arenado.
Arenado has been linked to the Yankees as the St. Louis Cardinals are looking to trade the third baseman to clear cap. New York also has a need at third base, so it was a logical landing spot for Arenado.
However, according to Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic, it seems unlikely the Yankees are going to trade for Arenado unless the Cardinals eat a good amount of his salary.
“Speculation has circulated around the Yankees in particular, especially after Paul Goldschmidt — Arenado’s good friend and teammate in St. Louis for the last four seasons — signed a one-year, $12.5 million contract with New York in mid-December,” the article read. “However, multiple league sources say that while the Yankees like Arenado, they aren’t interested in taking on the majority of his contract, something that would almost certainly need to happen from the Cardinals’ perspective.
“New York also does not have to trade for a third baseman; it can move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base and hope a healthy DJ LeMahieu can man the hot corner consistently next year. The Cardinals will still actively try to trade Arenado, but they will be rather reluctant to eat a larger portion of his salary, as the whole point of trading Arenado is to off-load his contract,” the article added.
Arenado is entering the sixth year of his eight-year $260 million deal. The third baseman hit .272 with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs in 2024. He’s also an eight-time MLB All-Star.
Yankees Could Turn to DJ LeMahieu At Third
If New York doesn’t trade for Arenado, as expected, the Yankees could start LeMahieu at third base.
LeMahieu dealt with injuries in 2024, but according to insider Jon Heyman, he’s the front-runner to start at third base.
“Yankees people love Alex Bregman but question whether Yankee Stadium is right for him. Possible they hope DJ LeMahieu regains health to fill 3B,” Heyman wrote in his article.
LeMahieu is entering the fifth year of his six-year $90 million deal. In 2024, in 67 games, he hit .204 with 2 home runs and 26 RBIs. His career high is 26 home runs and 102 RBIs.
LeMahieu is a three-time All-Star.
Cardinals Open to Keeping Arenado
If St. Louis can’t trade Arenado, the team is open to keeping him as their starting third baseman.
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak says the team remains in talks involving Arenado, but they are open to keeping him in 2025.
“We both remain optimistic that both parties will remain happy somehow,” Mozeliak said during the Winter Meetings. “[Arenado remaining with the Cardinals] is a possibility, but I’m not sure that puts us where we want to be. From a financial standpoint of trying to move our payroll – there are certainly other ways to do that, but [trading Arenado] would be a big help. It’s financial, but it also creates a runway for someone else.”
Arenado blocked a trade to the Houston Astros earlier this offseason. St. Louis reportedly were willing to send $15-20 million to the Astros as part of the deal to help pay down Arenado’s salary.
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Insider: Yankees Unlikely to Trade For $260 Million Star Infielder