Brewers watch rival Cardinals' rebuild continue with lopsided Nolan Arenado trade

Back on February 1, 2021, the Milwaukee Brewers NL Central rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, made what appeared to be an incredibly lopsided trade with the Colorado Rockies. In exchange for a package of prospects, which included Wisconsin-native Jake Sommers from Hortonville, the Rockies sent Arenado and $51 million to cover part of his salary to the Cardinals.

Outside of a few mediocre seasons from Austin Gomber, who was included in the Rockies' return, none of the prospects panned out, and the Cardinals looked like geniuses for adding Arenado to their roster. He was an All-Star in each of his first three seasons in St. Louis, and finished 3rd in NL MVP voting in 2022.

However, beginning in the second half of the 2023 season and continuing in 2024 and 2025, Arenado's offensive numbers started to slip, and his Gold Glove defense at third base became a thing of the past. As a result, the Cardinals began looking for a trade partner to whom they could offload the aging infielder and his remaining contract, which was still considerable despite the Rockies' generous contributions.

The trade process was made more difficult by the fact that Arenado had a full no-trade clause included in his contract, which he reportedly exercised last offseason to shut down a trade that would have landed him with the Houston Astros. Also complicating the process was the fact that the Cardinals were reportedly unwilling to pay down a significant chunk of Arenado's remaining contract just to trade him away to another team. Enter Chaim Bloom, who is best known for his highly successful, albeit painful, rebuild with the Boston Red Sox. Bloom made it clear that any rebuild the Cardinals were going to engage in was going to have to involve them covering some of the salary of their departing stars in order to maximize their return.

Bloom's strategy has already been on full display this offseason, with the Cardinals electing to trade away both Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras to the Red Sox; in both trades, St. Louis agreed to cover some of the salaries of the players they were trading away in order to get a better package in return from Bloom's former club. Now, the strategy is once again being used by the Redbirds, as earlier today they agreed to trade Arenado and $26 million to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for pitching prospect Jack Martinez. However, given how much money the Cardinals are sending Arizona's way, it's pretty shocking that their return wasn't more substantial.

Cardinals send $26 million and Nolan Arenado to Arizona Diamondbacks for 2025 8th-round pick Jack Martinez

According to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, the D-Backs are responsible for $11 million of the $42 million remaining on Arenado's contract. That would seem to suggest that the Cardinals are sending $31 million Arizona's way as part of the trade, but guess who is still paying $5 million of Arenado's remaining contract: the Colorado Rockies. Therefore, the actual cash going from St. Louis to Arizona in this deal is $26 million, and three different clubs will pay Arenado's remaining salary.

That said, $26 million is still a lot of money for the Cardinals to cover, and it's fair to think that they maybe should have received more in return as a result. Don't get me wrong, Martinez is an intriguing arm out of Arizona State, but given the fact that the D-Backs are adding Arenado for an average salary of $5.5 million per season, the return for St. Louis feels rather light.

It's good news for the Brewers and the rest of the NL Central, who no longer have to see Arenado 13 times a year. Though his numbers slipped against Milwaukee in recent seasons (when his overall numbers took a dip as well), Arenado still posted an OPS of .818 with 14 homers in 65 games against the Crew since joining the Cardinals in 2021. He continued to do damage against the Brewers in 2025, despite his numbers taking a hit, including a walk-off homer that he slugged off Trevor Megill on April 26 of last year.

The rebuild continues in St. Louis, and after the Brewers rival already shipped out two veteran stars in Gray and Contreras earlier this offseason, they now add Arenado to their list of departing former All-Stars. That said, Bloom and company might not be done yet; second-baseman Brendan Donovan remains one of the top targets on the trade market this offseason. Meanwhile, the Brewers and their division counterparts who rarely see a true rebuild in St. Louis are simply left smiling, especially because the return in the Arenado deal is rather underwhelming.