The Boston Red Sox’s infield market dwindled further Tuesday afternoon when the St. Louis Cardinals traded veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Red Sox were heavily linked to Arenado last offseason, and as a high-caliber defender at third and right-handed hitter, he technically fits several of their needs again this year. He’s also close with Trevor Story, his longtime teammate on the Colorado Rockies.
Arenado, who turns 35 in April, is an eight-time All-Star with five Silver Sluggers and 10 Gold Gloves on his résumé. His six Platinum Gloves – awarded annually to the single-best defender in each league – are the most by any player since the accolade’s inception in 2011.
His decline is evident, though, and he is under contract through 2027. In 107 games last season, Arenado slashed .237/.289/.377, all career-worst marks. His power production – key area of need for the Red Sox – has plummeted in recent years. After averaging 38.5 home runs per 162 games from 2015-22, he hit 54 home runs combined over the subsequent three seasons, including 16 in ’24 and 12 last year.
Arenado was willing to waive his full no-trade clause to come to Boston last winter, before the team signed Alex Bregman. It’s unclear if the two clubs re-visited their trade talks this winter, but both men are off the table as of this week.
Boston has made two trades with St. Louis this winter, for right-hander Sonny Gray and first-baseman Willson Contreras.
They have also been linked to the Cardinals’ versatile, club-controlled infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan, who plays second, third, and left field. Donovan, who turns 29 on Jan. 16, won’t reach free agency until 2028. He batted .287 with a .775 OPS in 118 games last year, and is a career .282 average, .772 hitter through four seasons.
The Red Sox could put Donovan at second and rookie Marcelo Mayer at third, or vice versa.
The rebuilding Cardinals are also fielding interest in Donovan from the San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners, though, and at Saturday’s Fenway Fest, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow sounded wary of making another trade.
“In order to acquire players like Sonny and Johan (Oviedo) and Willson and others, we’ve had to move really good players, and the depth that we’ve acquired over the last couple of years is something that we don’t want to take for granted,” Breslow said, “so I think if there’s an opportunity to continue to invest in this team via free agency, that’s a path that we would probably prefer.”
That was, of course, before Bregman chose the Chicago Cubs later that night.
The Red Sox have made 10 trades this offseason. They remain the only team without a major league free-agent signing.
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