This ‘Ridiculous’ Three-Team Mock Trade Could Be the Wild Solution to the Nolan Arenado Problem .MH
The St. Louis Cardinals have traded one of their expensive veterans away and they should get more done as soon as possible.
St. Louis has been trying to flip Nolan Arenado for a year and the time is now. Sonny Gray is already out of the organization and Arenado is the guy the team should try to flip next and MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince pitched a perfect and “ridiculous” mock trade to do just that.
Should the Cardinals make a move like this?
“Mariners get: UTIL Brendan Donovan,” Castrovince wrote. “Mets get: 3B Nolan Arenado, RHP/LHP Jurrangelo Cijntje (Mariners’ No. 8 prospect). Cardinals get: OF Lazaro Montes (Mariners’ No. 3 prospect), RHP Camden Lohman (Mets’ No. 30 prospect). Cash is a complicating factor in this trade, but let’s try it anyway. The Mariners have highly touted prospects Cole Young and Colt Emerson as long-term options in their infield. But Young did not assert himself in 2025, Emerson has yet to debut and Seattle is clearly in win-now mode. Donovan, who has the ability to play second or third, fits their immediate need in the infield and is under control through 2027.
“Seattle and St. Louis could, of course, just work out a swap together. But in this deal, in keeping with our three-team theme, we’re going to use the Mariners to help the Cards move some money. Here, the Mets take on the $37 million owed to Arenado through 2027. While his bat has sagged, Arenado’s glove is a hot corner upgrade for a Mets team clearly focused on run-prevention (as evidenced by their trade for Semien). And to offset some of the financial burden they’re (ably) taking on, the Mets add the intriguing switch-pitcher Cijntje to their system.”
If the Cardinals are going to get an Arenado trade done, there may not be a better hypothetical option. In this scenario, it would be difficult to lose Donovan, but in Castrovince’s mock trade has the Mets taking on the rest of Arenado’s deal. That’s the kicker here.
The Cardinals included $20 million to offload Gray. If they can somehow get out of Arenado’s deal without including cash, there wouldn’t be a bigger win this offseason. This is a mock trade, but it would be a dream scenario for St. Louis.
