Now is the perfect time for the St. Louis Cardinals to trade for Nolan Arenado

If the St. Louis Cardinals were every seriously considering trading for Nolan Arenado, the slugging Colorado Rockies third baseman, there might not be a better time to try to make a deal for him.

Supposedly, the Cardinals were close to a deal for Arenado over the offseason only to see the deal collapse with the Rockies optimistic they could either convince their franchise player to stay with a good start to the season or drive up his price at the trade deadline. That scenario is now up in smoke as it appears the 2020 season might not happen at all, and it if does, it’s going to be shorter are more devoid of revenue than years past. I can’t imagine that many clubs are willing to go all in on a season that could go wrong in so many different ways. Meanwhile, some of the typical big spenders are likely to stay on the sidelines. The Boston Red Sox are rebuilding and already have an incumbent third baseman. The New York Yankees have two pretty good third basemen fighting for a job.

Unfortunately for the future of baseball, it looks like the designated hitter is going to join the National League, ruining baseball as it was meant to be played forever. That probably makes it unlikely the Los Angeles Dodgers will need to go out and add a bat. While they’ve got a third baseman in Justin Turner, they can add to their offense elsewhere by having an extra spot in the batting order for one of their slugging outfielders who would otherwise be sitting on the bench. The Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs are really the only clubs that could conceivably use a third baseman and afford to pay him. But the Cardinals have more attractive trade chips for the Rockies who are always looking for controllable pitching and who reportedly also seek a young catcher.

So, with the Cardinals down a slugger with Marcell Ozuna now in Atlanta, they could certainly use a big bat. Arenado supposedly would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to relocate to Busch Stadium and the obvious choice for a DH on the St. Louis roster is defensively challenged corner infielder Matt Carpenter who might find new life in his bat if he could concentrate on his strength — hitting — and forget about his weakness — fielding.

The question is would the Cardinals be willing to pull the trigger on a deal when they’re going to take a beating in 2020 when they won’t be hosting fans at Busch Stadium nor in their major investment across the street, ballpark village?

One reason they ought to say yes is because the circumstances in baseball make it more likely that ever before that Arenado won’t opt out of his current contract worth about $162 million from 2021-2026. According to MLB leaders, owners expect to lose $4 billion in revenue if the 2020 season isn’t played and some clubs could be facing bankruptcy. Throw in the fact that the league’s collective bargaining agreement is nearing its end and teams could be very reluctant to lock themselves into a contract with so much economic uncertainty in the air.

On the other hand, the Cardinals could save half or more of the $35 million Arenado was supposed to make this year, putting them in a better position to absorb his contract, potentially clearing $20 million for Yadier Molina, $10 million for Adam Wainwright, $11.5 million for Andrew Miller, $7 million for Brett Cecil and $5 million for Mike Leake from the books by the first year the Arenado contract is in full effect. Plus Dexter Fowler and Matt Carpenter’s deals will be up at the end of 2021.

It’s a tough time for the Cardinals to be bold. But the best deals are found buying from distressed sellers in a bad economy. This is the worst time to spend a lot of money — but the best time to make a franchise-altering deal.

Scott Wuerz

Belleville News-Democrat

Scott Wuerz has written “Cheap Seats,” a St. Louis Cardinals fan blog for the Belleville News-Democrat, since 2007. He is a former BND reporter who covered breaking news and education.