The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire 34-year-old third baseman Nolan Arenado, who would add a potential future Hall of Famer on the back end of his career to the lineup.
The Diamondbacks are sending out pitching prospect Jack Martinez, whom the club drafted out of Arizona State last summer, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro first reported.
The Athletic’s Katie Woo first reported the deal was close and that Arenado would waive his no-trade clause.
Arenado provides an answer for who will start at third base this upcoming season, allowing the D-backs to utilize young infielders Blaze Alexander and Jordan Lawlar in other ways, including potentially the outfield.
Arenado is a 13-year MLB veteran with eight All-Star Games, 10 Gold Gloves, six Platinum Gloves and six top-10 finishes for the National League MVP. His ability to field anything and make perfect throws was Brooks Robinson-esque during his prime, and he consistently barreled up 30-42 home runs from 2015-22.
He will turn 35 years old in April and is in another phase of his career from his dominant days with the Colorado Rockies, however, coming off a career-low .666 OPS.
The veteran has two years left on his contract and is owed $16 million in payroll in 2026 and $15 million in 2027. The Rockies owe him $5 million this upcoming season, and he has $6 million deferred. AZCental.com’s Nick Piecoro reported that the D-backs are only on the hook for $5 million in 2026 and $6 million in 2027.
The rebuilding Cardinals were willing to take on $15-20 million to get a deal done with Houston last offseason, according to MLB.com, but Arenado blocked the trade. The Cardinals are retaining $24 million on players they traded earlier this offseason (Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras).
The Diamondbacks took star second baseman Ketel Marte off the trade block last week, which ended their chances of signing free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, who has since agreed to terms with the Chicago Cubs.
Arenado will make $27 million in 2026 and $15 million in 2027, including deferrals. From what I am hearing, the Cardinals will be picking up the majority of the contract with Arizona paying roughly $10 million over the two years.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) January 13, 2026
Who are the Diamondbacks getting in 2026 Nolan Arenado?
Over the past three years, Arenado has averaged 2.4 wins above replacements per 162 games with a .725 OPS and 18 home runs per season. He slashed .237/.289/.377 last year with 12 home runs in 107 games, having missed time with a right shoulder sprain.
The Diamondbacks could use a bounce-back season from his bat to bolster the middle of the lineup. A positive is that he struck out at a career-low 11.2% (excluding 2020), however his contact quality has dipped in the past couple years. His 86.8 mph exit velocity last season was among the bottom 10% of the league.
He is not the otherworldly defender that he once was, but he’s still very good at third base coming off a season with six defensive runs saved and three outs above average. He committed five errors, the fewest among 18 third basemen with at least 750 innings.
In the vein of Evan Longoria joining the club in 2023, Arenado has seen a lot throughout his career. He is eighth on the active players leaderboard in games played and home runs, hitting 353. His teams have made the postseason four times, but he has yet to reach the World Series.
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