The St. Louis Cardinals are actively seeking to trade the All-Star to a contender while also aiming to reduce their payroll for 2025. They hope to give their younger players more opportunities this season, but haven’t yet found a destination for Arenado as spring training quickly approaches. The team will need to move fast if they want to offload his contract.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently identified 10 potential landing spots for the eight-time All-Star, with the San Diego Padres being one of the teams mentioned. Like the Cardinals, the Padres have had a relatively quiet offseason so far.
Reuter suggested that acquiring Arenado could help keep Manny Machado fresh, noting that Machado, now 32, isn’t the elite defender he once was. In 2024, Machado started 51 games at designated hitter, which could indicate a trend toward a more flexible role for him. Adding Arenado would be a win-now move for the Padres, one that wouldn’t significantly impact their already thin farm system.
Arenado posted a .272/.325/.394 slash line last season, with career lows of 16 home runs, 71 RBIs, and a .719 OPS. He is owed $74 million over the final three years of his contract, with $10 million still being paid by the Colorado Rockies.
The Cardinals have made it clear that cutting payroll is a priority this season. Trading Arenado would help achieve that goal and also create an opportunity at third base for young players like Thomas Saggese or Nolan Gorman, allowing the team to evaluate their potential.
