The St. Louis Cardinals opened spring training on Wednesday and the club still hasn’t been able to trade star third baseman Nolan Arenado.
The Cardinals have attempted to move the 33-year-old without finding a taker and Arenado is currently slated to report to camp in Jupiter, Fla., on Sunday.
St. Louis tried to work out a deal to trade Arenado to the Houston Astros in the offseason but Arenado turned it down.
“We’re adults. Would it be awkward? I would imagine there would be a moment of awkwardness, but I still think he’s a professional baseball player and he’s currently a St. Louis Cardinal, and we all understand once you are here, you’re pushing forward,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. “Would that mean trying to accomplish something during spring training? Possibly, but there are no guarantees at that point.”
Arenado, an eight-time All-Star, underachieved badly last season with a .272 average, 16 homers and 71 RBIs in 152 games.
With at least 30 home runs in seven of 12 MLB seasons, Arenado has spent the last four with St. Louis after eight campaigns with the Colorado Rockies. He has three years left on his contract.
Arenado provided the Cardinals with a list of five teams he would consider for a potential trade. They are reportedly the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels.
“Ultimately, I did not have a large list of teams, and it wasn’t like there were 29 teams I could take him to, so I’m trying to navigate what I could work with,” Mozeliak said. “Obviously, it hasn’t moved at the pace many of us had hoped for.”
The Cardinals allowed veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to leave via free agency after last season and now manager Oliver Marmol is waiting to see how things play out with Arenado.
“You operate as if he’s coming to camp, and my conversations with (Arenado) up to this point have been exactly that,” Marmol said. “Until that changes, there is no reason to plan otherwise. So as we stand here today, we have pitchers and catchers here and we’re focused on that. Once we get to the position players being here and a full camp, we’ll address it.”
The Cardinals also learned Wednesday they split two salary arbitration cases, beating Brendan Donovan and losing to Lars Nootbaar.
Donovan will receive $2.85 million instead of the $3.3 million he sought. Nootbaar was awarded $2.95 rather than the team’s $2.45 filing amount.
Nootbaar, 27, batted .244 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs in 109 games last season. The outfielder has a .246 average with 45 homers and 146 RBIs in 392 games over part of four big league seasons, all with the Cardinals.
Donovan, 28, hit .278 with 14 homers and 73 RBIs in 153 games last season. The utility player has a .280 average with 30 homers and 152 RBIs in 374 games over three seasons with St. Louis.
St. Louis right-hander Andre Pallante had his case heard Wednesday. Pallante requested $2.1 million while the Cardinals countered with a $1.925 million offer.
–Field Level Media
