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A’s Had Deal In Place For Nolan Arenado Prior To D-Backs Trade

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The Nolan Arenado trade saga in St. Louis came to a close last week, when he was dealt to Arizona in exchange for salary relief and minor league righty Jack Martinez. According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, however, the Diamondbacks weren’t the only team to reach a deal with the Cardinals. Rosenthal reports that the Athletics not only pursued Arenado in trade with St. Louis, but that the sides actually had a deal in place that would’ve sent Arenado to the west coast. The deal would’ve seen the A’s take on more money than Arizona was willing to, Rosenthal notes, but was scuttled by the fact that Arenado indicated he preferred to go to the Diamondbacks or Padres and may not have approved a deal with the A’s.

The news represents the latest indication of the Athletics’ desire to return to contention in advance of their move to Las Vegas, which is expected to be in time for the 2028 season. Arenado, 35 in April, is under contract for just two more seasons and would likely not have been on the club by the time the team arrived in Nevada. Even so, his addition would’ve been a way for the team to address third base in the short term. The A’s brought in Jeff McNeil to take over second base earlier this winter, and already have impressive players at first base (Nick Kurtz), shortstop (Jacob Wilson), DH (Brent Rooker), catcher (Shea Langeliers) and the outfield corners (Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom). That leaves third base as one of the most obvious places the team could upgrade, and even an aging Arenado would likely provide a higher floor than 23-year-old Max Muncy at the position.

That makes it fairly easy to see why the A’s would have interest in Arenado’s services and, if the team was willing to take on a larger portion of Arenado’s salary in order to facilitate the deal than Arizona wound up agreeing to take, it’s easy to see why the Cardinals would have seen the Athletics as an attractive trade partner. Unfortunately for both clubs, however, Arenado wasn’t quite so enthused. The veteran and likely future Hall of Famer seemed to prioritize playing for a club with more credible playoff aspirations as he wielded his no-trade clause over the past two offseasons, and the A’s are not exactly a proven playoff squad. Even after last year’s steps forward, the team finished with a middling 76-86 record that left them fourth place in the AL West. While that was a modest improvement over the year prior, it still left them far out from a playoff spot. The fact that the A’s are currently playing in a minor league park presumably didn’t help.

Perhaps a full season of Kurtz and development for the team’s other young players can help them take another step forward, but teams like the Mariners, Astros, and even Rangers don’t seem likely to be going anywhere this year. That leaves the A’s in a precarious position as far as making the playoffs go, and Arenado clearly wasn’t enthused about rolling the dice on the team. While the Diamondbacks are exceedingly unlikely to win the NL West this year thanks to the mighty Dodgers, they should be in the mix for a Wild Card spot alongside teams like the Padres, Giants, Mets, Braves, and Reds. That’s a much thinner field than the Wild Card race in the AL, which arguably includes all five teams in the AL East alone.

If the A’s want to consider other possible upgrades to the third base position, there are at least a handful of other trade options out there. Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan and Cubs youngster Matt Shaw both have the ability to handle the hot corner, but could be too expensive in terms of the return cost for the A’s to swing a deal. Perhaps the Phillies would be willing to move Alec Bohm, but they seem less likely to do so than they were when they were pursuing Bo Bichette. The Astros could look to move Isaac Paredes, but it would be a shock to see them trade within the division. Lower level free agents like Yoan Moncada and Ramon Urias could serve as an alternative route to upgrade the roster, though the A’s have at times had trouble luring players to West Sacramento.

Several Teams Showing Interest In Miguel Andujar

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Free agent infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar is drawing widespread interest, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post, with the Rangers, Padres, Cardinals, Reds, Cubs and Athletics listed as some of the clubs in the mix.

Andujar, 31 in March, is coming off his best season in years. He missed a little over a month due to an oblique strain but got into 94 games, split between the A’s and Reds after a deadline trade. He generally puts the ball in play a lot, avoiding both strikeouts and walks, and that continued to be the case last year. In his 341 plate appearances, his 5% walk rate was quite low but he was also only struck out at a 14.4% clip.

He produced a .318/.352/.470 batting line, production which translated to a wRC+ of 125, or 25% better than league average. There was likely a bit of good luck in there, as his .348 batting average on balls in play was quite high, but it would have been a good showing even with neutral luck. He slashed .277/.315/.399 over 2023 and 2024 for a wRC+ of 103, with a decreased .306 BABIP in that stretch.

Andujar hits from the right side and has strong platoon splits. For his career, he has a .297/.332/.475 line and 121 wRC+ against lefties, compared to a .275/.307/.427 line and 101 wRC+ without the platoon advantage. It was even more extreme last year, as Andujar had a .389/.409/.578 line and 171 wRC+ against southpaws. Against righties, he held his own with a .290/.331/.429 line and 108 wRC+.

Defensively, he doesn’t play a premium position but does provide some versatility, as he lined up at the four corner spots last year. He doesn’t get great marks anywhere but the ability to move around is helpful when a club is looking to play matchups.

Andujar can therefore be of theoretical use to any club with a lefty in a corner somewhere. The A’s employed Andujar in 2024 and part of 2025 and could do so again. They have Nick Kurtz at first with the outfield corners manned by Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler. They could potentially be more competitive in 2026 but could also trade Andujar at the deadline again. Last year, they were able to get pitching prospect Kenya Huggins from the Reds.

The Rangers project to have Brandon Nimmo in left. Evan Carter is another lefty, with notable struggles against southpaws, and projects to be the club’s center fielder. There has been some suggestion that Wyatt Langford could take some center field playing time, which could make room for a righty bat in a corner. Joc Pederson projects to be the designated hitter. He is coming off a poor season but has crushed righties and flailed against lefties in his career.

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom recently said the Cards have room for a righty-hitting outfielder. The club projects to have lefty Lars Nootbaar in one corner, with Alec Burleson at first base and Nolan Gorman possibly getting lots of playing time at third. The Cards are rebuilding but Andujar could help the club protect their current players and then perhaps be traded at the deadline, just as he was last year.

The Reds just had Andujar for the final two months of the 2025 season and could once again slot him in. They traded Gavin Lux to the Rays but project to have lefty JJ Bleday in one outfield corner. The Cubs have Michael Busch at first base and Moisés Ballesteros is probably the favorite to take over the designated hitter spot. The Padres project to have some combination of Jake Cronenworth, Sung Mun Song and Gavin Sheets covering first base, second base and designated hitter.

Andujar isn’t likely to command too much on the open market as a short-side platoon player. Guys like Austin Hays and Randal Grichuk are somewhat comparable players who each got one-year, $5MM deals last offseason. Rob Refsnyder just got $6.3MM from the Mariners on a one-year deal last month.

Hays and Grichuk are out there again now, alongside Andujar. Other similar players in this market include Austin Slater, Tommy Pham, Starling Marte and Chas McCormick. There’s also Harrison Bader, though he should be a tier above this group. Since he is a strong defender in center, he is a viable everyday player and may be able to secure himself a two-year deal.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Hanisch, Imagn Images

Cardinals Notes: Donovan, Wetherholt, Winn, Herrera

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Brendan Donovan’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors for a couple of years now, but with the Cardinals moving into a full-on rebuild mode this winter, it has seemed like only a matter of time before the versatile All-Star is dealt.  That said, it isn’t a guarantee that another club will meet what is reportedly a high asking price on the Cards’ part, and Donovan won’t necessarily remain on the market forever.

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom naturally didn’t share many details on the trade talks when speaking with reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) this weekend at the Cards’ Winter Warm-Up fan event, but Bloom would “I think ideally” like to see Donovan’s situation settled one way or other by the start of Spring Training.  This is certainly a lot less concrete than Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen firmly declaring the end to the Ketel Marte trade negotiations, but it is some indication that Bloom might have some kind of loose deadline in mind.

This could be a way of putting a bit more pressure on Donovan’s suitors to up their offers, or it could reflection the simple fact that Donovan and the Cardinals have a season to prepare for, and constant trade buzz will continue to be a distraction.  While the hot stove won’t entirely cool until a deal actually happens, Donovan would surely prefer to just focus on baseball during Grapefruit League action.  Having rumors weigh on Donovan to the point that it impacts his play isn’t helpful for Donovan, the Cardinals, or the team’s efforts to command a high return on the trade market.

Since Donovan is arbitration-controlled through the next two seasons, there isn’t any immediate reason St. Louis needs to trade him this offseason.  The situation also got a little less pressing when Nolan Arenado was dealt to the Diamondbacks, thus opening up the Cardinals’ third base spot and creating less need for Donovan to be moved out of second base.

Moving some of Arenado’s salary was certainly a factor in his trade, but from a pure baseball standpoint, the rebuilding Cardinals wanted as much runway as possible for their younger players to get regular at-bats.  Nolan Gorman and Thomas Saggese should benefit from more available third base playing time, but both Bloom and manager Oliver Marmol reiterated this weekend (to Gould and other media) that top prospect JJ Wetherholt has a chance to make the Cards’ Opening Day roster.

Baseball America ranked Wetherholt fourth on its updated August list of the top 100 prospects in baseball, and MLB Pipeline has Wetherholt fifth on its current list.  The 23-year-old infielder is sure to occupy another top-shelf ranking when the 2026 prospect lists are released, as Wetherholt excelled in his first full pro season — he hit .300/.425/.466 over 275 plate appearances for Double-A Springfield, and then hit .314/.416/562 over 221 PA after an in-season promotion to Triple-A ball.

Wetherholt totaled 17 homers and 23 steals (out of 26 chances) over the full 496 PA and 109 total games while playing primarily at shortstop, but he made 20 appearances as a second baseman and 12 appearances at third base.  The Cardinals aren’t going to rush things with their prized prospect, and if the hot corner is likely going to be Wetherholt’s entry point into his big league career, his fielding development may be the deciding factor in whether or not he can break camp.  However, both evaluators and the Cardinals themselves have a high opinion of Wetherholt’s glovework, and feel he can adapt anywhere.

“There is a versatility there.  His mindset will allow him, in my opinion, to excel at any of those [positions],” Marmol said.  “It’s a special mindset.  It’s one I continue to be impressed with.”

The shortstop position might not open for Wetherholt as long as Masyn Winn is there, as Winn is one of the game’s top defenders.  Winn won his first Gold Glove in 2025 despite playing through a partial meniscus tear during the second half of the season, and he underwent an arthroscopic knee surgery in late September to correct the issue.

The relatively minor procedure wasn’t expected to impact Winn’s readiness for Spring Training, and Bloom confirmed as much to reporters (including Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) this weekend.  Winn is “not even in rehab mode.  He’s just preparing for the season at this point,” Bloom said.

Ivan Herrera is also making good progress in his recovery from October surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing arm.  Bloom said Herrera has started his throwing program, and his offseason prep over the next week will include the start of his hitting work, as well as blocking and receiving work behind the plate.  Herrera acted mostly as a DH during an injury-marred 2025 season, as he played in only 107 games.  While his bat certainly didn’t suffer (19 homers and a .284/.373/.464 slash line in 452 PA), Herrera is eager to return to catching in 2026.

Defense was seen as a question mark for Herrera even before his health issues cropped up, so his future as a catcher is far from settled.  Spring Training will provide some answers on Herrera’s recovery and development, but “I think it’s hard to evaluate strictly in spring,” Marmol said.  “When you think about what pitchers are doing in spring, they’re working on a specific pitch.  You’re not game-planning against a hitter.  There are certain things we’ll be able to continue to address and improve upon during spring.  But I think that’s a tough ask.”

As Goold notes, Herrera’s ability to catch impacts the Cardinals’ wider roster decisions.  If Herrera will again be a primary DH, the Cards will need to roster two proper catchers — Pedro Pages, and one of Yohel Pozo or Jimmy Crooks.  If the Cardinals feel good enough about Herrera’s defense to make him a part-time backstop, that probably means Pozo and Crooks will start the season in Triple-A, or one of them could possibly be trade fodder.

Royals “Increasingly Unlikely” To Trade For Jarren Duran, Brendan Donovan

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The Royals have been fairly active this offseason on the trade market and have already worked out deals that brought outfielder Isaac Collins (alongside righty Nick Mears) and lefty setup man Matt Strahm to Kansas City. They’ve explored bigger trades than those throughout the winter as well, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported recently that the club is “increasingly unlikely” to be successful in their efforts to trade for either Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran or Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan. While that doesn’t completely rule out the club pulling off one of those deals, it’s surely disappointing news for Royals fans who had been dreaming on a big trade.

Upgrading the team’s lackluster outfield mix has been a priority in Kansas City this winter, and either Duran or Donovan surely offer a big boost. Duran is a full-time outfielder who has experience in both left field and center field, and would likely play center for the Royals if acquired. That would push Kyle Isbel into a depth role and move Lane Thomas over to right alongside Jac Caglianone. Donovan, meanwhile, is capable of playing all over the infield and outfield. If acquired, he’d likely split time between the outfield corners and second base. That would cut into playing time for Collins in left field, Caglianone in right field, and Jonathan India at second base while also moving Thomas into a timeshare with Isbel in center.

Either of those situations would substantially improve the Royals’ lineup, but it seems a deal coming together is a long shot at this point. That’s not necessarily a shock. The team’s top trade chip at this point might be southpaw Kris Bubic, but both Duran and Donovan are valuable enough that it would be hard to see them being moved for a rental player. Other pitchers on the roster like Cole Ragans and Noah Cameron would surely be more attractive, but taking a long-term piece out of the rotation that’s helped buoy the Royals to their solid 2024 and ’25 seasons (alongside Bobby Witt Jr.’s emergence as a superstar) seems like a tough pill for the team to swallow.

Without further additions, that would leave the team with Collins as the regular in left field, Isbel in center, Caglianone in right, and Thomas spelling Isbel and Caglianone against left-handers. Dairon Blanco, Kameron Misner, and Drew Waters are depth options as well, though none is a lock to make the Kansas City roster at this point. It’s hard to see that group being anything more than below average, as the Royals posted the worst wRC+ in the majors (73) on the grass last year. Collins (122 wRC+) should be a substantial improvement over the production the club got out of left in 2025, and Caglianone could certainly take a step forward after a tough rookie campaign. But Thomas’s 48 wRC+ last year makes it hard to count on him offering impact to the team, while Isbel and the depth pieces seem unlikely to take meaningful steps forward.

Of course, Donovan and Duran aren’t the only ways the team could improve its offense. Perhaps a free agent like Mike Tauchman or Austin Hays will fall through the cracks and be available for relatively cheap later this offseason. It’s also possible that a different trade could come together. Players like Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox, Jesus Sanchez of the Astros, and Ramon Laureano of the Padres have all found themselves in trade rumors this year, and while none has been directly connected to the Royals at this point it would certainly make sense for Kansas City to check in. Given the team’s pursuit of Donovan, perhaps even an infielder who could either take up a utility role themselves or push India into that sort of role could make sense. Cubs infielders Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw and Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. are among the players who have seen their names pop up in rumors lately, as have the Mets’ many young infield talents. Trade whispers in Queens, specifically, may only grow louder in the aftermath of the club’s recent signing of Bo Bichette.

Bloom: Cardinals “Have Room” For Right-Handed Outfielder

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The Cardinals’ Winter Warmup fan event is this weekend, and newly-minted president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom took questions directly from fans as part of the festivities. As noted by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, one of those questions was about former Cardinals (and current free agent) Harrison Bader’s availability on the market. In his response to that question, Bloom suggested that the same has “room” for a right-handed outfielder on the roster before acknowledging that Bader is a possibility to fill that void. Bloom declined to discuss Bader’s asking price, or any other specifics of contract talks.

It’s worth emphasizing that Bader, 32 in June, was the direct subject of the question Bloom was asked. That makes him being named as a potential fit less meaningful than it would be in other circumstances, though he would certainly be a solid addition for the club that took him in the third round of the 2015 draft. Bader ended his Cardinals career back in 2022, when he was traded to the Yankees in exchange for Jordan Montgomery over the summer. He left the Cardinals with a career .246/.320/.409 slash line, good for a wRC+ of 98. That roughly average offense was paired with elite defense in center field and a handful of stolen bases, and the outfielder was coming off a particularly strong 2021 campaign where he won a Gold Glove in center field and posted a 108 wRC+ with 16 homers in just 103 games.

Bader has generally struggled since leaving St. Louis, with lackluster stints playing for the Yankees, Reds, and Mets across the 2023 and ’24 seasons. With that being said, however, 2025 proved to be a career year for him. After signing with the Twins, he spent most of his time in left field out of deference to incumbent star Byron Buxton, but Bader managed to make up for the drop down the defensive spectrum with his bat. He hit a respectable .258/.339/.439 during his time in Minnesota, then kicked things up a notch when he was traded to Philadelphia and moved back to center field. Over his final 50 games last season, Bader slashed an excellent .305/.361/.463. That brought his overall season line up to .277/.347/.449 (122 wRC+) in a career-high 146 games, with 17 homers, 11 stolen bases, and +7 Outs Above Average.

It was a very impressive season, to be sure, and in a free agent class that lacks much right-swinging outfield talent it was enough to make a multi-year deal a reasonable ask for Bader as he reached the open market. Early in the offseason, a reunion with the Phillies seemed like the most likely outcome, but the team instead opted to bring Adolis Garcia into the fold to round out their outfield mix. With Garcia poised to patrol right and top prospect Justin Crawford likely to open the season in center field, there isn’t much room for Bader in the Philadelphia outfield mix at this point. Bader’s market has been fairly quiet outside of those early rumors of a Phillies reunion, which could open the door for a team like the Cardinals to try and be opportunistic.

St. Louis is far from the only team that stands out as a plausible fit for Bader, of course. Reunions with the Mets and Yankees could make sense, as well, particularly if Cody Bellinger winds up signing elsewhere. The Royals, Rays, and Guardians could use outfield help, but might not have the resources to mount a substantial pursuit of Bader. The Diamondbacks and Giants have a bit more financial muscle to flex and could theoretically make room for an outfield addition, but may prefer to stick with their internal options. Austin Hays, Miguel Andujar, Chas McCormick, and Randal Grichuk are among the alternatives to Bader available in free agency for teams looking for a right-handed outfielder this winter.

D-Backs Notes: Arenado, Donovan, Bullpen, Puk

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The months of Nolan Arenado trade rumors came to a close on Tuesday when the Cardinals dealt the 10-time Gold Glove winner to the Diamondbacks. St. Louis paid his contract down to two years and $11MM, while Arizona parted with last year’s eighth round draft pick (Jack Martinez). The Cardinals had made no secret of their desire to shed a portion of Arenado’s salary and open space at third base for younger players, with Nolan Gorman likely to get the first run.

Arenado’s full no-trade clause gave him say over his destination. He had a limited number of teams to which he would have accepted a deal last offseason. He expanded that list this winter and discussed the decision on an introductory Zoom call with reporters. “Seeing where (the Cardinals) were headed the past few years, it was very evident that there’s a step they need to take,” Arenado said (link via Sam Blum of The Athletic). “Letting these young guys go and finding out who they are, and who their identity is. I think I’m just kind of in the way of that, in a sense. I kind of always felt like that last year.”

Asked about the appeal of the Diamondbacks specifically, Arenado pointed to their position player core built around Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte (video provided by Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). He noted the geographic proximity to his native Southern California and expressed excitement about the team’s playing style. He’ll take over as the everyday third baseman and should at least provide a strong glove, though it remains to be seen how much he has left in the tank offensively. He’s going into his age-35 season on the heels of a .237/.289/.377 showing over 107 games.

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that conversations with the Diamondbacks developed quickly. Arizona had been involved in the market for free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, who agreed to a five-year deal with the Cubs on Saturday. It wasn’t until last Friday that reports emerged that they had firmly pulled Marte off the trade market. While the Cardinals and D-Backs had discussed Arenado throughout the winter, it seems talks accelerated in the wake of the Bregman/Marte developments.

Goold writes that the Snakes had also been among the teams to reach out to the Cards about Brendan Donovan. Their interest in the left-handed hitting utilityman had not previously been reported. That’s unlikely to mean much at this point. St. Louis is widely expected to trade Donovan, but teams like the Mariners and Giants appear more engaged. Arizona has Marte, Perdomo and Arenado in the three infield spots to the left of first base. Donovan would be an upgrade in left field, but a team with a second base need will probably be more motivated to part with high-end prospect talent.

Arizona’s focuses now seem to be a right-handed hitting first baseman and the bullpen. Franchise icon Paul Goldschmidt has made sense as a target in the former role all offseason, and the acquisition of his longtime St. Louis teammate only strengthens that fit. They may need to take more of a patchwork approach to the bullpen. This week’s one-year, $1.55MM deal to bring back Taylor Clarke is their only big league bullpen pickup to date.

Clarke projects as more of a middle or long reliever than a leverage arm. That’s true of essentially everyone in the Arizona ’pen until A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez return from last year’s elbow surgeries. General manager Mike Hazen acknowledged that while the front office would love to add an established late-game arm, that’ll be challenging at this stage.

“Would I like to have somebody that has a clear pedigree of pitching in the eighth and ninth inning? That’s an easier answer. I’m not sure what we’ll have access to in that way,” Hazen told Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. He acknowledged they need to continue adding to the bullpen this offseason but suggested the biggest impact would probably come from internal improvements and hopefully getting Martinez and Puk healthy. Arizona prioritized upper minors pitching in last summer’s deadline activity. Brandyn Garcia, Juan Burgos and Andrew Hoffmann all came over as inexperienced but essentially MLB-ready bullpen pieces.

Of the injury returnees, it seems Puk is further along. Piecoro writes that the D-Backs hope to get the southpaw back within the first few months of the season, while Martinez is targeting a second half return. Puk underwent internal brace surgery in late June. Martinez required a full Tommy John reconstruction, which comes with a longer recovery timeline. It was the second elbow ligament procedure of each pitcher’s career, as they’d both had Tommy John surgeries during their prospect days.

Cardinals, Mets Among Teams Interested In Griffin Canning

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The Cardinals and Mets both have some interest in free agent righty Griffin Canning, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Canning spent the 2025 season with the Mets after signing a one-year, make-good deal in free agency last year. He started the season well before running into a brief rough patch and then suffering a torn Achilles tendon before he really had a chance to bounce back. The White Sox are also known to have interest.

A former second-round pick and highly regarded prospect with the Angels, Canning has shown glimpses of the upside he had during his minor league days but hasn’t found much consistency in the majors. Part of that is due to persistent injuries, as he’s missed time in his career due to not just last year’s Achilles tear but also elbow, groin and calf injuries over the years. The Angels traded him to the Braves for Jorge Soler just hours into the 2024-25 offseason in what amounted to a salary dump for Atlanta; Canning was non-tendered just a couple weeks later.

After signing a one-year deal with the Mets, Canning looked like a quality bargain to begin the season. Spring injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas opened a rotation spot, and Canning ran with that opportunity. Through his first nine starts, he posted a terrific 2.47 ERA with slightly better-than-average strikeout and walk rates (23.2% and 8.6%, respectively) and an excellent 55.2% ground-ball rate. He had some good fortune in terms of balls in play, home runs and strand rate, but even more bearish metrics like SIERA (3.84) and FIP (3.92) still graded him as a solid mid-rotation arm.

Canning hit some trouble in mid-May, walking 18 hitters over his next 26 1/3 innings. He didn’t get a real chance to bounce back from that rough patch. During the third inning of a road start against the Braves, he suffered a torn Achilles tendon during his follow-through on what otherwise looked like a perfectly innocuous pitch. Canning had to be helped off the field and underwent season-ending surgery. His 2025 campaign ended with a 3.77 ERA, 21.3% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate and 50.9% ground-ball rate. The bump in grounders was particularly notable, given that he’d been a fly-ball pitcher with the Halos. The Mets made some changes to his pitch selection and also altered the shape/release points of his slider and changeup.

Another one-year deal for Canning seems likely after the way his 2025 season ended. He ought to command more than the $4.25MM guarantee he received last winter — at least as long as he’s healthy. Heyman writes that Canning is expected to be ready “around” Opening Day, so it’s not yet clear whether he’ll need an IL stint to begin the season (and may not become fully clear until afer he’s signed and spring training is underway).

The Mets and Cardinals both make varying levels of sense. New York obviously liked Canning last winter and had to be encouraged by how he performed with input from their staff. They’re looking for depth and have been open to trade offers on both Kodai Senga and David Peterson.

The Cardinals are an even more sensible fit. They’re in the early stages of a rebuild over in St. Louis, and Canning could provide a veteran arm and some upside who could play his way into trade chip status this summer. After trading Sonny Gray and seeing Miles Mikolas become a free agent, the Cardinals’ rotation currently mix includes Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy, free agent pickup Dustin May and trade acquisitions Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins. Prospects Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence and Brycen Mautz could debut at some point in 2026 as well. That’s a lot of arms but far less certainty, making the addition of Canning or another veteran a sensible pursuit.

Latest On Mariners’ Trade Targets

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This week’s trade sending Nolan Arenado from St. Louis to Arizona and the Cubs’ weekend signing of Alex Bregman figure to accelerate the market surrounding various trade and free agent scenarios. One club that could directly be impacted is the Mariners, who’ve spent the bulk of the winter trying to add another infielder after re-signing Josh Naylor on a five-year contract early in the offseason.

Seattle’s interest in Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan is no secret. They were linked to him last offseason and have been reported to be one of his most prominent suitors this winter. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports that in addition to Donovan, the Mariners have had “ongoing” discussions with the Cardinals about left-handed reliever JoJo Romero throughout the winter. Seattle already added one southpaw arm for the bullpen, acquiring Jose A. Ferrer from the Nationals in December, and they have a second outstanding option in Gabe Speier, who enjoyed a breakout year in 2025 (and was just added to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic).

Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reports that Donovan is the Mariners’ top target on the trade market but adds that the M’s also have interest in Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner. The veteran Hoerner’s name has come up in trade speculation since the Bregman signing, though it seems unlikely a deal will actually come together. Chicago appears willing to listen as a matter of due diligence but would presumably need to be overwhelmed and receive substantial big league talent to trade Hoerner coming off a .297/.345/.394 season that saw him swipe 29 bases, win his second Gold Glove and finish sixth in the National League with 6.2 wins above replacement, per Baseball-Reference (or 15th with 4.8 fWAR, for those who prefer FanGraphs’ version of the statistic).

[Related: Giants Aggressively Pursuing Second Base Upgrade]

At this point, the fit between Donovan and the Mariners has been explored at length. He’s an affordable ($5.8MM in 2026) high-contact bat with good on-base and defensive skills who can handle either of the two currently unsettled positions in the Seattle infield: second base or third base. The M’s have plenty of highly touted prospects who could emerge at those positions — Colt Emerson, Cole Young, Michael Arroyo among them — but Donovan could also move to an outfield corner if those promising young players force the issue. He’s under control through the 2027 season via arbitration.

Romero was previously linked to the Mariners, but that was before the team acquired Ferrer. It’s notable that Jones implies there have been talks even after that swap. The 29-year-old lefty has been a mainstay in the Cardinals’ bullpen for three-plus seasons now and has steadily shown year-over-year improvement. In 2025, he tossed a career-high 61 innings with a career-best 2.07 earned run average. Romero saved eight games, tallied 24 holds and blew only one opportunity. He fanned a slightly below-average 21.6% of his opponents against a bloated 11.4% walk rate that stands as a major outlier relative to the career 7.7% walk rate he carried into the ’25 season. The lefty also kept a hefty 54.5% of batted balls on the ground.

The Cardinals signed Romero to a $4.26MM contract for the upcoming season — his final year of club control. While last year’s hiccup in terms of command is of at least some concern, the broader track record is quite strong. Since joining the Cardinals, Romero boasts a flat 3.00 ERA (3.61 SIERA) with a 23.4% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate, 53.7% ground-ball rate, 57 holds and 12 saves. The Orioles and Yankees are among the others to show interest in Romero, though it’s a veritable certainty that the field of interested clubs is much larger than just these three.

Echoing previous reporting from The Athletic’s Katie Woo, Jude suggests that at least a pair of top-100 prospects — switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje and outfielder Lazaro Montes — have been discussed in talks with the Cardinals. The exact permutations of those talks remains murky. There’s no firm indication that St. Louis has sought both in the same package for Donovan, just as there’s no certainty that Seattle has offered both. It’s certainly possible that Romero’s name has come up as part of a package talk involving one or both those ballyhooed young players. Whatever shape those negotiations have taken, they (obviously) have yet to culminate in a deal.

Hoerner, much like Donovan, is a straightforward fit for the Mariners. The previously mentioned Cole Young is currently in line to open the season at second base for the M’s. He’s a former first-round pick and top-50 prospect, but Young hit just .211/.302/.305 in his first 77 MLB games last year. He won’t even turn 23 until late July, so there’s plenty of time for him to develop into a quality regular, but the Mariners are built to win right now. Hoerner, a free agent next winter who’s signed for $12MM in 2026, would give the Mariners an immediate upgrade while affording them the luxury of additional development time for Young. As a bonus, Seattle could extend a qualifying offer to Hoerner next November, netting them a compensatory draft pick in the event that he signs elsewhere.

Again, the Cubs are not outright shopping Hoerner but are willing to hear other clubs out. They’re almost certainly not going to trade him for prospects who are years from MLB readiness; doing so would offset most or even all of the wins gained by bringing Bregman into the fold. It’s hard to come up with a direct exchange that would benefit both parties equally, but the Mariners are nothing if not aggressive and creative on the trade front.

At present, RosterResource projects the Mariners for just under $157MM in 2026 payroll. That’s a bit shy of the franchise-record $158MM Opening Day payroll and a ways south of the roughly $167MM figure at which they ended the 2025 campaign. Given the win-now push in Seattle and the extra revenue from a deep playoff run that saw the Mariners advance to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, it stands to reason that ownership is willing to push payroll beyond those marks.

Cardinals Trade Nolan Arenado To Diamondbacks

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After more than a yearlong residency on the rumor mill, Nolan Arenado’s time in St. Louis is over. The Cardinals announced Tuesday that they’ve traded Arenado and cash to the D-backs in exchange for minor league right-hander Jack Martinez (Arizona’s eighth-round pick in the 2025 draft). The Diamondbacks are reportedly on the hook for a total of $11MM of the remaining $42MM owed to Arenado over the next two seasons. The Cardinals owe the remaining $31MM. Arizona’s 40-man roster had a vacancy but is now at capacity with the addition of Arenado.

With the Cardinals entering a rebuild under new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, trading the 34-year-old Arenado (35 in April) has been a primary goal this offseason. St. Louis has finally achieved that goal but paid a hefty price to do so. Arizona will be on the hook for just $5MM this season and $6MM next year.

Three years ago, a salary dump of Arenado would’ve been hard to imagine. He was a National League MVP finalist after hitting .293/.358/.533 with 30 home runs and his typical brand of elite defense during that 2022 season. His offense slipped considerably in 2023 (.266/.315/.459) but was still north of league average. It dipped to about average in 2024, however, and plummeted well below par this past season.

In 436 plate appearances with the Cardinals in 2025, Arenado turned in an anemic .237/.289/.377 batting line. By measure of wRC+, he was 16% worse than an average hitter at the plate. Arenado’s 12 home runs were his lowest in a full season since his rookie year back in 2013. This year’s 6.4% walk rate was his lowest since 2015. When considering that his 34.1% chase rate on pitches off the plate was also his worst since 2015, that’s not particularly surprising. Arenado’s 11.2% strikeout rate was one of the lowest in MLB and one of the best in his career, but he also posted his highest-ever infield fly rate — 16.5% of his fly-balls were harmless pop-ups — and recorded some of the worst exit velocity and hard-hit numbers of his career.

Suffice it to say, Arenado’s decline at the plate has been steep. He still possesses plus contact skills but will need to scale back his chase rate and cut out some of those weak pop-ups if he’s to improve in a meaningful way. Fortunately for Arenado, he’s going to a more favorable offensive environment than the one he’s been calling home in St. Louis. While Phoenix’s Chase Field isn’t the hitters’ haven it once was, it plays largely neutral to right-handed power now — a stark gain for Arenado relative to St. Louis’ Busch Stadium, which is the fifth-worst park for right-handed home run power over the past three years, per Statcast’s Park Factors.

Prior to adding Arenado, the Diamondbacks had been involved in the market for Alex Bregman. A match there always seemed like something of a long shot, given Arizona’s intent to reduce payroll in 2026, but the interest was legitimate. The Snakes quickly pivoted and brought in a much more affordable option to hold down the hot corner for the next two seasons. Arenado’s glove has also taken some steps back in recent years, but he’s still an above-average defender. He’ll give manager Torey Lovullo a quality pair of defenders on the left side of the infield, joining breakout shortstop Geraldo Perdomo in that regard.

Acquiring Arenado leaves the Diamondbacks with little opportunity for former No. 6 overall pick and top prospect Jordan Lawlar. Perdomo’s breakout appeared to push Lawlar down the defensive spectrum to third base, but he looked overmatched both with the glove and in the batter’s box during his first few tests against MLB pitching. The D-backs were considering giving him some time in the outfield, and perhaps with Jake McCarthy now in Colorado following this weekend’s trade, there’ll be a clearer path to that experiment. If not, Lawlar has a minor league option remaining and can be sent back to Triple-A (where he’s routinely thrashed opposing pitchers) — or even included in a potential trade package to address needs elsewhere on the roster.

Even with the Snakes looking to cut payroll, the addition of that fraction of Arenado’s contract amounts to little more than a footnote. He’s effectively replacing a league-minimum player, so this trade adds a net $4.2MM to the team’s books. Per RosterResource’s estimates, that brings Arizona’s payroll just north of $170MM. That’s more than $17MM shy of last year’s Opening Day payroll. An exact target isn’t clear, but there should be room to add a reliever or two, at the very least, and further trades could always change the payroll outlook one way or another.

If the money changing hands (and the frequent reporting in the year-plus leading up to today’s trade) wasn’t indicative enough that this amounts to a salary dump for St. Louis, the return should be. Martinez hasn’t pitched an inning in professional ball yet. The Diamondbacks selected him with their eighth-round pick last year out of Arizona State University. His $167K signing bonus checked in south of his No. 243 overall selection’s $223K slot value.

A 6’4″, 215-pound righty, Martinez started his college career playing Division-III ball before transferring twice and ending up in the Sun Devils’ rotation as a senior. He was tagged for a 5.47 ERA through 15 starts during his senior year. It’s not an encouraging number, but Martinez punched out 32.3% of his opponents and can run his fastball up to 97 mph, per MLB.com’s scouting report. He has a four-pitch mix with a changeup serving as his best secondary offering, but Martinez is a pure lottery ticket for the Cardinals’ reshaped player development department.

A year ago, the Cardinals thought they had worked out a trade to send Arenado the Astros. Arenado, however, invoked his no-trade protection to nix that arrangement, reportedly due to reservations about the Astros’ commitment to contending; Houston had just traded Kyle Tucker to the Cubs days prior to the nixed Arenado deal. Heading into the current offseason, Arenado was forthcoming about the fact that he’d be more open-minded to offseason trade scenarios than he was last winter.

That clearly seems to be the case, but the D-backs might’ve been a viable landing spot for him even if he were continuing to remain selective. Arizona may be scaling back payroll, but their signings of Merrill Kelly and Michael Soroka — plus their reported interest in the aforementioned Bregman — all signal a commitment to try to field a contender in 2026. Beyond that, Arenado is a Southern California native with a home in Arizona. There are geographic benefits that surely played into his decision to waive that no-trade clause for a move to the desert.

For the Cardinals, moving Arenado now clears a relatively nominal sum from the long-term books and furthers their goal of creating opportunities for younger players. It remains to be seen whether Arenado’s third base reps will go to Nolan Gorman, top prospect JJ Wetherholt or even former top prospect/third baseman-turned-outfielder Jordan Walker. Whoever takes up regular work at the hot corner will be a more viable long-term option at the position than Arenado is as he enters his mid-30s.

The trade of Arenado is the third of a big-name veteran on a large contract for the Cardinals this offseason. They’ve already traded Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras to the Red Sox. Those players were shipped out in separate deals, with St. Louis eating notable portions of money in those trades, too. Between Gray, Contreras and now Arenado, the Cardinals will be shelling out $59MM over the next two seasons to three players who are no longer on their books.

Eating that amount of money to facilitate the trades of three former All-Stars is unprecedented, but the Cardinals have been clear about their intent to rebuild the organization from the ground up, modernizing the player development department, analytics staff and various other components of the team’s baseball operations setup — all while affording younger and more controllable players the opportunity to establish themselves in the majors. With three pricey veterans gone, much of the heavy lifting has been taken care of, but the Cardinals are still widely expected to trade second baseman Brendan Donovan and left-handed reliever JoJo Romero before the season begins.

Katie Woo of The Athletic first reported that the two sides were in serious discussions. John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Arizona Sports broke the news that an agreement was in place and added that Martinez was going back to St. Louis. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported details on the cash changing hands.

Cardinals Sign Ryne Stanek

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January 13: Bloom announced to the media today that the Stanek deal is official. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat was among those to pass it along. The Cards opened a 40-man spot by trading Nolan Arenado to the Diamondbacks earlier today.

January 10: Stanek will earn $3.5MM in 2026, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The deal also includes a $6MM club option for 2027.

January 9: The Cardinals are in agreement with free agent reliever Ryne Stanek, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Chris Cotillo of MassLive first reported that St. Louis was pursuing the hard-throwing righty. The Cardinals will need to open a 40-man roster spot once the MVP Sports Group client completes a physical.

Stanek gets a change of scenery after an inconsistent year and a half with the Mets. New York acquired him from the Mariners at the 2024 trade deadline. While he allowed 11 runs in 16 1/3 regular season innings down the stretch, Stanek’s plus strikeout rate and strong postseason work led the Mets to bring him back on a $4.5MM free agent deal.

That didn’t pan out, as the 34-year-old had an up-and-down season. Stanek had strong run prevention marks in May and July but was knocked around in the other four months. He finished with a 5.30 earned run average across 56 innings. ERA estimators were only slightly more bullish as Stanek’s strikeout and walk rates each went in the wrong direction.

A 22.7% strikeout rate was narrowly the lowest of his nine-year career. Stanek had fanned nearly 28% of opposing hitters one season earlier. It’s crucial that he miss bats because command has never been a strong suit. Stanek has walked at least 10% of batters faced in all but one year, including a 12.5% mark last season.

The Cardinals are taking what should be a low-cost bet that he’ll strike out more batters in 2026. Stanek still has the stuff to do that. He averaged 98.5 MPH on his heater, a top 15 mark in MLB. He backs that up with a plus slider and mixes in a splitter and sweeper as his third and fourth offerings. Stanek still missed bats at a slightly above-average rate on a per pitch basis.

St. Louis doesn’t have a ton of experienced arms in the late innings. Southpaw JoJo Romero had been their only reliever with even two years of MLB service. There’s a decent chance he’s traded before Opening Day. The Cardinals were looking for a veteran arm who can pitch in the back half of the bullpen. Stanek fits best in middle relief but could be in the high-leverage mix, perhaps even as a closer, on a rebuilding club. He’s a known commodity to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, who was in the Rays front office when Tampa Bay drafted him in the first round in 2013.

There’s also a geographic tie. Stanek was born in St. Louis and went to high school not far outside Missouri in Stilwell, Kansas. There’s a decent chance he’ll be traded midseason if he’s pitching well, but he’ll get a chance to play for his hometown club for at least a few months.

Image courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images.

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