Last week it was reported that St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado blocked a trade to the Houston Astros because he “wants to be told ‘No’ by the Dodgers.”
Arenado is Interested in the Dodgers. The Feeling May Not Be Mutual
But according to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, there are several ‘logical reasons’ the Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t truly interested in making the trade.
“For as much as Arenado seems to be interested in the Dodgers, the organization hasn’t shown much interest for some logical reasons: Max Muncy has been more productive the past two seasons at a much lower cost. The botched trade to the Houston Astros showed that the St. Louis Cardinals would be willing to pay down some of Arenado’s contract, but how much would they have to pay down to entice the Dodgers — and does that point no longer make it worth it for the Cardinals, who are looking to shed salary?
Even if a deal came together, it’s hard to see where the pieces fit. Sure, Muncy has played second base before — but that came before shift restrictions. Evaluating his potential fit there now is a completely different proposition than when he played there last in 2022.”
The Dodgers have been included in every big offseason free agent and trade talk this season, but apart from one big signing, Blake Snell, other teams have gotten the best of the Dodgers, but general manager, Brandon Gomes vowed that the team will rebuild a championship roster.
“We’ll continue to try to make moves we feel are needle-movers,” Gomes said. “Whether that’s impact moves, or depth moves, all those play into our quest to repeat.”
The team has plenty of work to do just to replace the spots left open by current free agents — both starting and relief pitching, infield help, a right-handed batter, and an outfielder all need to be added to move the needle enough to be ready for the ‘quest.’