Nolan Arenado is open to playing 1B to facilitate a trade for the Cardinals

Nolan Arenado is open to a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals, 33 years old, wants to be a World Series contender.

“It’s like his blood clock is ticking,” agent Joel Wolfe said Tuesday at the winter meetings. “And if the team doesn’t win it drives him crazy every day, every night during the postseason. And he takes it personally, like it’s all up to him.”

An eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove third baseman, Arenado is open to a switch to first base. He hit .272 with 16 homers and 71 RBIs this year, his worst season in a decade.

St. Louis acquired Arenado in Colorado before the 2021 season, lost in the wild card round in his first two years, then failed to make the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

“The Cardinals changed direction, which is good. Every team does that,” Wolfe said. “So if that’s the case and they’re saying it might help to shake it up and they’re open and talking about it, he’s like: ‘I understand. Let’s just try to find a place where they’re at. A different place,’ where he could just jump in and help the team go to the next level.”

Arenado has played 1,629 games in the field during his major league career, all of which rank third. He won the Golden Gloves from 2013-22, matching Seattle pitcher Ichiro Suzuki for winning the award in his first 10 seasons.

Arenado told Cardinals president of baseball John Mozeliak that he was open to a position change.

“If it makes Mo’s job easier to get to the right team, Nolan is willing to hang around,” Wolfe said, quoting his client as saying, “‘I’m not intimidated to start playing and I can win. Glove Glove out there if that’s what it takes.’

“He wanted to be the first to give that so Mo could tell the other teams,” Wolfe said.

Arenado has a career average of .285 with 341 homers and 1,132 RBIs for the Cardinals and Colorado Rockies. He is owed $74 million in the final three seasons of a contract that pays him $275 million over nine years.

He has a full no-trade clause, which gives him the ability to decide where he goes.

“It’s more of an ongoing conversation of: Would you be okay with this team? Would you be okay with that team?” Wolfe said. “We don’t want to waste Mo’s time and there are strong points about where he would prefer not to go and things like that. There has been momentum in the discussion about how that works.”

It is reported by the Associated Press.

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Nolan Arenado

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Major League Baseball