Yankees Should Try Again At Trade Attempt for This Former All-Star

Yankees Should Try Again At Trade Attempt for This Former All-Star

By Derek McAdam

January 29, 2025

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The New York Yankees have had an eventful off-season after losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. While they did lose Juan Soto to the Mets, they have managed to fill in several other spots. Brian Cashman signed Max Fried to an eight-year contract, while also swinging trades for Devin Williams and Cody Bellinger. To fill the first base void, Cashman also brought in Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year contract.

However, the Yankees still have a couple of holes left to fill just weeks before Spring Training is set to begin. They could use another arm or two in the bullpen, but the question of who the final infielder will be is still up in the air. Goldschmidt will play first, Anthony Volpe will be at shortstop, and Jazz Chisholm will be at either second or third, depending on who Cashman brings in.

As they did earlier in the off-season, the Yankees should try and go after Nolan Arenado to fill in their void at third base. They did propose shipping Marcus Stroman to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Arenado, but the Cardinals did not approve the trade. This is likely due to the fact that they want something else in the trade, maybe someone along the lines of an Oswald Peraza to help fill the infield void once Arenado leaves.

But the Yankees could end up improving their team even more with the addition of Arenado, even though he is about to enter his age-34 season. While Arenado did not have his best of seasons last year, he still managed to hit .272 at the plate along with 16 home runs. Plus, his defense is still very good, which is what the Yankees could use more than anything. No offense to Chisholm, as he showed some athleticism at third, but he did expose a couple of big weaknesses, especially charging soft ground balls.

Arenado is also under contract through the 2027 season, and there would be a possibility that the Cardinals eat some of his contract in order to make the trade go through. If the Yankees were to get two good seasons out of him, they would gladly take it. It is no surprise that Arenado is moving towards the back end of his career, but he may also have a few seasons left in the tank. Why not see at least a couple of those seasons with him in pinstripes?

It does not seem as if Arenado has changed his mind about wanting out of St. Louis. And it does not seem that St. Louis has changed their mind about trading Arenado being their top priority. So this is a big advantage for the Yankees. However, Arenado has the final say as to where he wants to go. He has already declined a trade to the Houston Astros this off-season, but may feel as if they are entering a “re-tooling” era and are not going to be in the best position to win.

Remember, Arenado has never made it past the Divisional Series round in the playoffs and has only made the post-season in four of his 12 MLB seasons. There is no doubt that he wants to be on a team that has a shot of winning a World Series, and the Yankees are one of those teams that has a legitimate chance, especially with the players brought in this off-season by Cashman to fill the voids.

The 10-time Gold Glove winner may decide that the Yankees do in fact have a shot of making another World Series run and would like to be a part of it. After all, it does not seem as if the Cardinals are going to be in a better position this season than they have the past couple of years.

Plus, the Yankees would then not have to go after Alex Bregman to fill the third base slot. I still think Bregman is going to end up getting a lengthy contract from someone, potentially even from the Houston Astros. The market seems to be heating up as Spring Training nears, and I’m sure Bregman and some of the other potential trade targets, including Arenado, want to know where they will be playing this season before they report to the facilities.

As the title suggests, the Yankees should “try again” at a trade for Arenado. As I mentioned before, the Yankees and Cardinals do not have the final say in Arenado’s future. Arenado does, and he may decide that the Bronx is not where he wants to spend the next three seasons. He’s never played in large market cities and may not be interested in such. And if that is the case, there is nothing that the Yankees can do.

However, I do think Cashman should still try and make a trade happen, at least a trade that the Cardinals will accept as long as Arenado signs off on it. But bringing a top defensive player into the Yankee organization would be a huge boost to this team and would make Cashman’s off-season that much better. Let’s see how the next couple of weeks play out.