The St. Louis Cardinals are off to a dreadful start in 2025. Through 25 games, the team is 10-15 and they sit in fourth place in the National League Central.
Unless something changes quickly, it would be hard to imagine St. Louis not selling at the trade deadline on July 31. They were sellers in 2023 when they finished in last place, and history may repeat itself.
One player that could be on the move is Nolan Arenado. The 10-time Gold Glove third baseman is off to a hot start in 2025. His defense remains elite, and his bat has woken up.
Should St. Louis decide to trade him, CBS Sports' Dayn Perry proposed the idea of the Philadelphia Phillies being a suitor.
"All of this is to say the two factors most essential to keeping the Arenado trade market alive – improved offensive performance on Arenado's part and poor results at the team level for St. Louis – are trending in the necessary directions. It's too speculative to get into trade specifics, but it's worth noting a couple of situations," Perry writes.
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"The Philadelphia Phillies have gotten miserable contributions from third baseman Alec Bohm this season (he takes a .508 OPS into Wednesday's slate), and they're in need of a lineup boost in the tough NL East."
With Bohm struggling, the Phillies make sense for Arenado. He came into Wednesday's series finale against the Atlanta Braves hitting .268/.375/.427 with two home runs, 10 RBI, an .802 OPS and a 126 OPS+.
Arenado could boost Philadelphia's lineup and give them far better defense at third base.
As for the Cardinals, third base could be opened up for Thomas Saggese or Nolan Gorman. 2025 is meant to be a year in which they'll devote time to younger players, and this would give them a chance to do just that.
We'll see where things stand at the deadline.
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