The next trade the Cardinals must make after Sonny Gray’s deal with the Red Sox

With Haim Blum takes over as president of baseball operationsthe St. Louis Cardinals they were obliged to make changes in their roster. That process started when they traded Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox.

He won’t be the only veteran St. Louis decided to give up. The Cardinals haven’t made the playoffs since 2022. The franchise was forced to take a hard look in the mirror. What they realized was that going back with the same team would be a pointless exercise.

Because of the newfound mentality of the Cardinals, expect Nolan Arenado to be traded. He has been the focus of trade rumors dating back to the start of 2025. But with St. Louis essentially giving up the white flag, Arenado would rather play for a contender. It seems likely that he would be more willing to waive his no-trade clause for multiple teams.

The Los Angeles Angels may not be seen as a serious contender just yet. However, they have proven that they are willing to be active trading for Grayson Rodriguez. If the Angels can sell Arenado on the idea that they are on the rise, they would be the perfect trade partner for the Cardinals to target.

The Cardinals must trade Nolan Arenado to the Angels

There is nothing special about the angel farm system. They they have two players in the top 100 prospectsvia MLB Pipeline; and both are ranked lower than 90th. It’s unlikely that Los Angeles would hang on to Arenado either, but that’s not the top asset the Cardinals should be trading.

Of all the teams in the market for Arenado, the Angels may be the most willing to trade. Aside from the overloaded contracts, Los Angeles may have a hard time landing any of the top free agents. Trading for Arenado gives the Angels another big bat and a veteran that their youngsters can rely on.

Furthermore, they have a clear need at the hot corner. Anthony Rendon is clearly done with the Angels and seemingly baseball as a whole. Yoan Moncada has been injured a lot in 2025 and is now a free agent. Los Angeles wouldn’t have to do much shuffling to get Arenado into the lineup.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is that Arenado is from Newport Beach, California. Of the two LA teams, he would prefer to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the opportunity to return home may be too good to pass up at this stage in his career.

For the Cardinals, the biggest goal in trading Arenado is simply to get the most value back possible. At their current stage, the Angels seem most capable of affording a trade. It’s hard to say whether Arenado’s presence would make the Angels a playoff team. However, a deal would bring Los Angeles closer to their current goals as St. Louis continues to build for the future.