Why Cardinals took on $31 million of Nolan Arenado's contract in trade with Diamondbacks

Matt Sullivan

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Why Cardinals took on $31 million of Nolan Arenado's contract in trade with Diamondbacks image

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The St. Louis Cardinals have made a few trades this winter, with both Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras going to the Boston Red Sox.

Their next move was sending Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Unlike their trades of Contreras and Gray, the Cardinals got just one prospect, a 2025 eighth-rounder, in return for Arenado. But as Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports, the most notable part of the deal is what the Cardinals are taking on from Arenado's deal. The Cardinals are eating $31 million of Arenado's $42 million deal. 

The reason why is clear: a trade wouldn't be completed otherwise.

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Why Cardinals ate $31M of Arenado's $42M contract

"The Diamondbacks are paying $5M this year and $6M next year of the $42 M left on Nolan Arenado's deal, a source says," Piecoro reports.

This is a significant amount of money for the Cardinals to take on. $31 million of the remaining $42 million is 73% of the remaining money on Arenado's contract.

While it's a ton of money for the Cardinals to take on, it's a part of the trade the St. Louis front office had to do to make it happen.

The Diamondbacks wouldn't have traded for Arenado with his $42 million price tag intact. The Cardinals needed to pick up some of that contract, and ideally, the bulk of it. In the process, the Cardinals were able to save $11 million, add Jack Martinez, a 2025 eighth-round draft pick and open up an infield roster spot for a young player.

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Arenado hit.237 this past season, and his.666 OPS was the worst mark of his 13-year Major League career by a wide margin.

When looking at things from the outside, Arenado is far from an appealing trade target. He's a player who will be 35 next season. While he is a good defender, he's coming off his worst offensive season by a wide margin amid a few years of regression, with injury concerns and $42 million owed to him over the next two seasons.

Finding any team interested in him would've been difficult, and fortunately, the Cardinals found a taker in the Diamondbacks. This never would've been close to completion if the Cardinals weren't willing to take on the bulk of Arenado's remaining contract. 

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