According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Yankees have not been engaged by the Cardinals in trade conversations regarding Nolan Arenado even after the signing of Alex Bregman.
Jack Curry and Andy Martino are two of the closest insiders to the Yankees’ organization, and they’ve both stated numerous times that pursuing Nolan Arenado would be highly unlikely as they hadn’t pursued him seriously at any point this winter. Despite the need for a third baseman, the Yankees would be far more comfortable rolling the dice on what they have internally than they would be paying Arenado over the next three seasons.
Yankees Haven’t Been Engaged By Cardinals For Nolan Arenado
The Yankees have a clear need at third base with an open battle between DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera being their current plan there. It would completely dampen the outlook of the team to not acquire a player before Opening Day, especially after losing Juan Soto in free agency and selling an approach centered around addressing all of the team’s needs.
DJ LeMahieu was a negative WAR player last season and Oswaldo Cabrera is best-suited in a utility role, but Nolan Arenado brings his own set of complications that would make a deal detrimental to the Yankees. His contract has three years remaining with an AAV of $17.3 million for the money left on the deal, and his sharp decline over the past few seasons would deeply concern any team.
What makes this even riskier for the Yankees is that the Bronx doesn’t fit Nolan Arenado’s offensive skillset well as a pulled flyball hitter from the right-handed side. If they don’t pursue Arenado, who can they acquire to fill out their third-base needs?
READ MORE: Why the Yankees still should avoid a trade for aging 3B
Willi Castro could be traded by the Minnesota Twins this winter if they choose to go through with their plan of shedding payroll after a series of expenses. The Yankees would benefit from having the switch-hitting infielder on their roster considering he’s extremely versatile and has a bat that fits the Bronx well. Furthermore, the team would benefit from his speed and defense at third base, which fits the team’s identity well.
It would also only cost them $6.4 million for this season with Castro being on an expiring deal, which could fit the Yankees’ financial plans a lot better than Nolan Arenado. In the last two seasons, he and Arenado have a similar fWAR despite fewer games played by Castro over that timespan, and he’s entering his age-28 season. They could also look to platoon Jose Iglesias with Oswaldo Cabrera after the news about the Mets moving on from him came out this week.