Nolan Arenado hasn't been performing as well at the plate for the St. Louis Cardinals as his contract would suggest. It's one of the main reasons why the Cardinals may look further into trading him before the July 31 deadline. For Arenado, the fielding part of his game has never left him, but the bat has let him down since beginning his Cardinals career in 2021.
Arenado never batted below .287 from 2014 to 2019, but he has only reached that mark once since joining the Cardinals. It's one of the most risky parts about acquiring a player from the Colorado Rockies, as sometimes their offense is a bit overblown playing half of their games at Coors Field. St. Louis' front office likely accounted for that to some extent, but there was no way of knowing that his offensive production would drop so significantly.
The primary obstacle to trading Arenado during the offseason was his contract. Contending teams that could use Arenado's glove don't have the appetite to take on such a lucrative contract, which makes the job that much harder for the Cardinals. The main reason for trading Arenado is to get themselves away from his contract, but if they have to eat most of the deal to move him, they may as well hold on to him.
The Cardinals reportedly had a deal worked out in the offseason with the Houston Astros, but Arenado exercised his no-trade rights at the last minute, according to Christopher Kline. While the Astros were able to get an even better bat in Isaac Paredes, there are still some teams around the league who might find a place for a Gold Glove infielder.