The St. Louis Cardinals are in the midst of a rebuild right now after trading Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras to the Boston Red Sox.
After these moves, the Cardinals are likely looking to offload Nolan Arenado and a few others to continue rebuilding their roster for the future.
Patrick McAvoy of St. Louis Cardinals OnSi predicted the Cardinals would trade Arenado and reliever Jojo Romero to the Seattle Mariners this offseason.
“Reports have been out there tying Seattle to Romero,” McAvoy wrote Tuesday. “Based on all of this, it sounds like the Mariners could like Romero and may not necessarily be looking only for a second baseman. If a team like the Giants steps up and lands Donovan, maybe then the Cardinals could turn to Seattle and offer the veteran slugger — who is 34 years old, like Suárez — plus Romero in a package to lower the amount of cash they would have to pay on his contract.
“In that scenario, the Mariners could roll with Young at second base and Arenado at third base while getting a high-end reliever.”
The Mariners need another infielder, and they’ve been closely linked to Brendan Donovan, but trading for Arenado would be much cheaper.
Arenado isn’t a star at this point in his career, but he’s an excellent defender. Adding Romero to the potential deal might be enough to get it done, as he would be a huge addition to the Mariners’ bullpen.
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