The rumor mill never fails when it comes to early offseason predictions and bold takes for what could happen in the upcoming months. Every team is looking to make moves one way or another, and that means another year of the St. Louis Cardinals looking to trade away third baseman Nolan Arenado.
Arenado has been a name that the Cardinals have been looking to move on from for a few seasons now. Whether it's been the trade deadline or the offseason, his name has come up non-stop in trade rumors. The Philadelphia Phillies, as a result, have been linked to the third baseman once again and now find themselves among the top possible trade destinations.
Trading for Nolan Arenado is not the move the Phillies need to make at third base
The Phillies have to upgrade the roster to avoid a repeat of this past season. An early playoff exit isn't what the Phillies expected and not what they have in mind for 2026. They're more than aware of what needs to change.
According to MLB.com's Mike Petriello, the Phillies are one of his top trade fits for Arenado, No. 5 to be precise. Third base has remained in question, with current third baseman Alec Bohm not being able to lock down the position with any real confidence.
This is where Petriello believes there is still an opening for Arenado to go to Philadelphia. The Phillies may not want to just hang onto Bohm one more year before free agency, so if he's dealt, Arenado could be the replacement.
Whatever Phillies fans want to say about Bohm's limitations as an offensive contributor, Arenado would not be an upgrade at the hot corner at this point in his career. Bohm finished 2025 with a .287 batting average and a .741 OPS. Arenado, last season, only hit .237 with a .666 OPS, both career lows.
The other part of this is that Bohm is 29, while Arenado will be turning 35 in April. Bohm is under (more affordable) team control with a projected arbitration salary of about $10 million this winter. Arenado is still owed $31 million over the next two seasons, split between St. Louis and Colorado.
Arenado is a 13-year veteran with a Hall of Fame-caliber resume. He's a 10-time Gold Glove winner, six-time Platinum Glove winner, eight-time All-Star, and five-time Silver Slugger. When Arenado was at his peak with the Rockies, he consistently finished in the top 10 in MVP voting. He was traded to the Cardinals before the 2021 season, and the track record has only gotten murkier. He finished third in NL MVP voting in 2022 but has fallen off considerably since.
Bohm may not be the Phillies long-term solution at the hot corner, but they also shouldn't want to be a destination for Arenado either. They want to get younger while maintaining their talent as an offensive squad. Unfortunately, that time has passed for Arenado and for the Phillies to bring him in.