Nolan Arenado trade: Diamondbacks acquire former All-Star from Cardinals after lengthy saga

The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired veteran third baseman and eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado in a major trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, the team announced Tuesday. The D-backs received Arenado and cash from the Cardinals for minor-league righty Jack Martinez. Arenado waived his no-trade clause and agreed to the deal.

As with the Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray trades earlier this winter, the Cardinals are paying down significant salary to facilitate the deal. Arizona will pay only $5 million of Arenado's $27 million salary in 2026 and $6 million of his $15 million salary in 2027, per the Arizona Republic. The Colorado Rockies will contribute $5 million toward Arenado's salary for 2026, leaving St. Louis on the hook for the remaining $26 million from 2026-27.

The deal ends a 16-month effort to trade Arenado. He used his no-trade clause to block a move to the Houston Astros last winter, when he would reportedly accept a trade to only a few teams. No deal was completed last season, so Arenado remained with the Cardinals in 2025, and the team gave him a farewell send off in their final home game. That felt like the point of no return. Arenado reportedly expanded his list of teams this winter and eventually the Cardinals got something done with the D-backs.

Nolan Arenado trade grades: Diamondbacks take a reasonable swing, Cardinals finally get to move on

R.J. Anderson

Arenado, who will turn 35 years of age in April, is coming off a 2025 season in which he slashed .237/.289/.377 (87 OPS+) with 12 home runs in 107 games for the Cardinals. What turned out to be his final campaign in St. Louis was notable for Arenado's ongoing decline at the plate. At the OPS+ level, Arenado declined from a 150 mark in 2022, when he finished third in the National League MVP balloting, to 108 in 2023 to 101 in 2024 to last year's 87. Whether Arenado can tap into his remaining pull-side power, which drove his offensive value for so many years, and enjoy a rebound at the plate will go a long way toward determining whether the D-backs were wise to acquire him. According to advanced metrics, Arenado, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, remains a strong defender at third base. 

Erstwhile top prospect Jordan Lawlar has struggled in his brief MLB action and, clearly, the D-backs were not comfortable going into 2026 with him at the hot corner. That Arizona played utility man Blaze Alexander, not Lawlar, as their regular third baseman following the Eugenio Suárez trade last summer, suggested they don't consider Lawlar ready for full-time duty. Arenado gives the club a cheap veteran two-year stopgap at the hot corner.

For his career, Arenado across parts of 13 MLB seasons has an OPS+ of 119 with 1,921 hits; 353 home runs; and 405 doubles. Arenado's WAR of 57.8 along with his reputation as one of the greatest defensive third basemen ever mean he'll one day have a serious chance at making the Baseball Hall of Fame. For now, though, the focus is on what Arenado will mean to the D-backs for 2026 and 2027.

As for the Cardinals, the trade continues an offseason teardown that saw Contreras and Gray traded to the Boston Red Sox in separate deals a few weeks back. Super utility man Brendan Donovan and lefty reliever JoJo Romero are likely to be the next Cardinals moved, possibly outfielder Lars Nootbaar as well. Interest in Donovan in particular is significant. 

Martinez, 22, was Arizona's eighth-round pick in the 2025 draft. He had a 5.47 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 77 ⅓ innings at Arizona State last spring. Baseball America did not rank Martinez among the D-backs' top 30 prospects prior to the trade.

The D-backs went 80-82 and missed the postseason in 2025. The Cardinals went 78-84 and are embarking on what amounts to a rebuild under new POBO Chaim Bloom.