Article speculates an Arenado to Pillies trade for Castellanos

[Quincy Varnish]

I expect Bloom would be more interested in borderline prospects, even if they have to eat more of Nado’s contract.

[82birds]

Arenado to the phils?
sure

but for Castellanos?
no. way.

[AZ_Cardsfan]

I don't understand why anyone would want Castellanos in return. He will be 34 in 2026. It is the last year of his contract and will cost $20m salary. His performance the last 3 years has declined from 787 OPS to 694 OPS. In a hitters park. He was a negative WAR player last year. I mean unless you think he will find the fountain of youth in STL and be tradable for a decent prospect at the AS break what value does he offer STL? I see negative value. Especially to a rebuilding team.

Why does anyone want him?

[Midrange Jay]

Anytime you can add a mid 30’s player coming off a sub 700 OPS season, you pull that trigger.

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I don't understand why anyone would want Castellanos in return. He will be 34 in 2026. It is the last year of his contract and will cost $20m salary. His performance the last 3 years has declined from 787 OPS to 694 OPS. In a hitters park. He was a negative WAR player last year. I mean unless you think he will find the fountain of youth in STL and be tradable for a decent prospect at the AS break what value does he offer STL? I see negative value. Especially to a rebuilding team.

Why does anyone want him?

Yeah, Arenado is bad, but Castellanos is worse. I'd bet on a slight Arenado rebound over that. But he really does have to be traded. Pointless to have him in the middle of a rebuild.

[StlMike1969]

I am not really understanding what part of "We are in a rebuild" people do not understand. this team is trying to get playing time for a whole host of younger players to determine their worth to the franchise. They are also in full fledged "Let's dump salary " mode. Bringing on a poor fielding 33 yr old that is making $20 mill makes no sense in any of those concepts. You can let a 22 to 26 yr old rookie play and get similar results for league minimum. With the added bonus of figuring out yet one more player that needs at bats. Any player like Caste is not in the framework of what Bloom and the team have laid out for 2026 or even 2027. They only have value if a lot more other pieces of the puzzle are already in place.

[Talkin' Baseball]

I am not really understanding what part of "We are in a rebuild" people do not understand. this team is trying to get playing time for a whole host of younger players to determine their worth to the franchise. They are also in full fledged "Let's dump salary " mode. Bringing on a poor fielding 33 yr old that is making $20 mill makes no sense in any of those concepts. You can let a 22 to 26 yr old rookie play and get similar results for league minimum. With the added bonus of figuring out yet one more player that needs at bats. Any player like Caste is not in the framework of what Bloom and the team have laid out for 2026 or even 2027. They only have value if a lot more other pieces of the puzzle are already in place.

Preach on!

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I am not really understanding what part of "We are in a rebuild" people do not understand. this team is trying to get playing time for a whole host of younger players to determine their worth to the franchise. They are also in full fledged "Let's dump salary " mode. Bringing on a poor fielding 33 yr old that is making $20 mill makes no sense in any of those concepts. You can let a 22 to 26 yr old rookie play and get similar results for league minimum. With the added bonus of figuring out yet one more player that needs at bats. Any player like Caste is not in the framework of what Bloom and the team have laid out for 2026 or even 2027. They only have value if a lot more other pieces of the puzzle are already in place.

Yeah. Fans of 1-year contracts for veterans don't get it. I can see maybe one of those for the rotation to eat innings.

[ecleme22]

I am not really understanding what part of "We are in a rebuild" people do not understand. this team is trying to get playing time for a whole host of younger players to determine their worth to the franchise. They are also in full fledged "Let's dump salary " mode. Bringing on a poor fielding 33 yr old that is making $20 mill makes no sense in any of those concepts. You can let a 22 to 26 yr old rookie play and get similar results for league minimum. With the added bonus of figuring out yet one more player that needs at bats. Any player like Caste is not in the framework of what Bloom and the team have laid out for 2026 or even 2027. They only have value if a lot more other pieces of the puzzle are already in place.

Yeah. Fans of 1-year contracts for veterans don't get it. I can see maybe one of those for the rotation to eat innings.

Actually, signing veterans to one-year deals is a great way for a rebuilding team to quickly accumulate prospects.

Here are some things with Arenado:
1. How much can you really get for him?
2. How much money will you have to eat?

Here are some things w an NC and NA trade:
1. Cards would get 17mil of relief.
2. They would get an OFer, which they need.
3. They would get a 1 year contract and possible bounce-back candidate that can be flipped at the deadline.
A. Would that get you a better return than dealing NA straight up to another team? Probably.

If this trade goes down, both Philly and STL would be taking on a risk. I definitely think NA could thrive in another environment. And ditto with NC.

[Carp4Cy]

For what it's worth ...

https://redbirdrants.com/cardinals-coul ... icial-deal

When the Cardinals rescued Nolan Arenado from a rebuild in Colorado, they received arguably the best all-around third baseman in the game. The Cardinals had just moved on from Matt Carpenter as their everyday option at the hot corner and replaced him with a perennial MVP and Gold Glove candidate in Arenado. To soften the blow of the acquisition, the Rockies not only took minimal prospect capital from St. Louis, but they also handed over a hefty amount of cash towards Arenado's contract.


As things now stand, Arenado has two years remaining on his deal with an average salary of about $15 million. With his track record prior to 2024, this would be a steal for a player of his caliber, but his all-around level of play has declined to the point where even that figure is an overpay. Arenado did get his defense back above-average, so he could still pick it at third for a team in need of a bounce-back candidate who will not hurt the team on the field.

A candidate for this would be the Philadelphia Phillies, who are in an interesting spot as a franchise as they have been extremely competitive but are aging with a lot of money tied into their current players. The Phillies currently have 29-year-old Alec Bohm as their everyday third baseman, but it seems like patience has been running thin with him, as his power has not developed to expectations, and his defense at third has been porous. The team has attempted to have him play first base at times, but they currently have Bryce Harper filling that spot most days.


Bohm is a free agent after the 2027 season, but the Phillies have been seen as a team that might tweak their roster, and trading Bohm could help them fill a need elsewhere. If that were to happen, Arenado could jump right into the starting lineup while also not having to shoulder the massive expectations of a middle-of-the-order bat. While Arenado and his contract probably will not return much in terms of prospect value, the Cardinals could look to fill one of their own needs in a deal with Philly.

The Phillies have announced that they are likely to move on from outfielder/DH Nicholas Castellanos this offseason, even if that means an outright release. Castellanos, 33, is coming off of a down year but has put together a decent resume that he could jump into the Cardinals lineup without limiting some of their younger players. Assuming the Cardinals deal at least one player from their current lineup, there would be an opening for Castellanos to take on the everyday DH role for the Cardinals, something they have not had since the NL adopted the DH full-time.


Castellanos is currently scheduled to make $20 million in 2026, the final year of his contract. He did play 143 games in the outfield last season, but is viewed as one of the worst fielding outfielders in the game. The Cardinals look to have their outfield set in one way or another, so he would not be needed in the grass unless something happens to one of their starters. A one-for-one Castellanos-for-Arenado swap would at least be interesting to me, but you have to wonder if the Phillies would want anything else to offset the cost.

The former division rival would provide St. Louis with more power, as he has four seasons with at least 25 homers and has a career-high of 34 he put up in 2021. He can also drive in runs, as his 72 RBIs this season would be second on this year's Cardinals team and his 17 long balls would be good for fourth on the squad. On a one-year deal while St. Louis determines what they have in the organization, Castellanos could be an exciting stopgap for the future.

" there would be an opening for Castellanos to take on the everyday DH role for the Cardinals, something they have not had since the NL adopted the DH full-time."

That part isn't true. We had Pujols as primary DH in 2022 and won 93 games.

[dekozma]

This would be a Mo 2.0 trade. I don't believe much will change with the organization until the franchise is sold.

[Carp4Cy]

I am not really understanding what part of "We are in a rebuild" people do not understand. this team is trying to get playing time for a whole host of younger players to determine their worth to the franchise. They are also in full fledged "Let's dump salary " mode. Bringing on a poor fielding 33 yr old that is making $20 mill makes no sense in any of those concepts. You can let a 22 to 26 yr old rookie play and get similar results for league minimum. With the added bonus of figuring out yet one more player that needs at bats. Any player like Caste is not in the framework of what Bloom and the team have laid out for 2026 or even 2027. They only have value if a lot more other pieces of the puzzle are already in place.

We already had all last year to "see what we have". At this point they need to prove they deserve playing time. Seeing what we have is what the minors is for.

Meanwhile, if we trade NA for a junk prospect, we are paying nearly all his salary to get no production back. Alternatively we trade him for another salaried ML player and get both production and a salary swap of some sort. So this does not constitute taking on salary. Its actually trading 2 years of a sunk contract for 1 year, of a sunk contract, probably with some minimal cash swapping hands. Castellanos doesn't have to play everyday, but if Walker is still struggling to hit Mendoza we can demote him to AAA without having to bring up a Garrett Hampson.

[riff raff]

How would this be a net positive salary wise?

[ecleme22]

How would this be a net positive salary wise?

I think 17mil would be saved

[Quincy Varnish]

If Arenado has a pill problem, that could explain his recent performance

[An Old Friend]

Not a horrible idea.

And with only one year remaining in NC’s deal, he could be trade bait at the DL.

Agree, it’s not without merit. If I was Bloom and this was an option, I’d ask for a prospect with Castellanos.