ESPN insider calls for Cardinals to trade star third baseman to the Blue Jays

Much rumors have surrounded the Toronto Blue Jays in their pursuit of star third baseman Alex Bregman this offseason. With Bregman being a former MVP finalist, along with being both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner, he could potentially be the answer for the Jays both at the plate and in the field for the next few seasons. However, competition for the notable free agent could be fierce and enough such that a bidding war might ensue.

As a result, there might be a more suitable option available for the Jays in the trade market instead. ESPN insider Kiley McDaniel recently proposed that the St. Louis Cardinals could potentially work out a trade deal with the Jays on eight-time All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado.

ESPN insider calls for Cardinals to trade star third baseman to the Blue Jays

As a 10-time Gold Glove and five-time Silver Slugger, along with finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting on six separate occasions over his 12 years in the majors, Arenado is practically everything Bregman can be plus more. After all, he has averaged 33 home runs and 109 RBI over a 162-game schedule pace each season, along with a stellar .285 batting average and .857 OPS for his MLB career.

However, Arenado is coming off his worst season since 2014 in terms of production numbers, as he recorded just 70 runs scored, 23 doubles, 16 home runs and 71 RBI in 152 games played with the Cardinals in 2024. Nevertheless, the fact that his whiff and strikeout rates actually ranked above the 88th percentile in the league showed that he still has the elite discipline and is still rarely overmatched at the plate. Added to his 10 outs above average that ranked him in the 95th percentile in the league, Arenado can still get it done in the field as well despite being already 33 years old.

With three more seasons and over $74 million remaining in his current contract, the Cardinals would likely need to eat a fair chunk of it to get the deal done. Because if the overall amount is too much, it wouldn’t leave the Jays with any money left to address other key offseason needs. In addition, from the Cardinals perspective, they likely wouldn’t be receiving a high-end prospect or two in return if the Jays are forced to eat most of the salary for a player coming off a down season. Nevertheless, at the right price and adequate prospect package going back, Toronto could find themselves officially having the ideal Matt Chapman’s replacement for the next three years.