Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals Trade Rumors HEAT UP Around Nolan Arenado & Brendan Donovan!

Starting point is 00:00:00 Today we've got the latest trade rumor surrounding Nolan Aeronado and Brennan Donovan, which could massively change the look of this team in 2026. You are locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I'm J.D. Hafford, a former national radio sports anchor, born and raised in St. Louis and a Lifetime Cardinals fan. And welcome to another episode of Lockdown Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. now the number one sports podcast network.

Starting point is 00:00:36 Thank you to our everydayers for being here throughout this whole process becoming the number one sports podcast network. And if you're new to the show, welcome aboard. Hope you enjoy the content. This is a show that serves cardinal nation, gives you all the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode brought to you by Fandall. Now, if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season,

Starting point is 00:00:55 visit fandle.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. Happy New Year to one and all. Hope you had an awesome holiday season, no matter what it was you were celebrating. I hope it went well for you. On to 2026 in our first show of the new year, we have got the latest news and notes from around the league, including another yet another veteran starting pitcher

Starting point is 00:01:16 who seemed to fit the Cardinals needs is now off the market. So we'll tell you who got signed. One of the top Japanese pitchers has selected his new home for 2026, but we're going to start with what has been the biggest storyline for the Cardinals this offseason. that's trading away veteran talent, right? We've seen Sunny Gray and Wilson Contreras already shipped to Boston, and now we're anticipating the trades of both their basement, Nolan Aronado,

Starting point is 00:01:45 and utility man extraordinaire, Britt and Donovan. Now, the rumors of an impending Donovan trade, they've been circulating for quite some time now. I mean, ever since the winter meetings, like, we thought something was going to go down with Donovan eventually. nothing has happened just yet. We just keep hearing the rumors, but things have really been quiet around Nolan Aronado.

Starting point is 00:02:10 We have not heard much about the market for Nolan Arnado at all. It has been very, very silent, which started making people wonder if maybe, maybe they're stuck with them and nobody wants them. But really, the third base market hasn't really taken off yet because guess who? Alex Bragman for the second year and a row. He keeps taking his sweet-ass time making a decision on things, which, hey, it's his right.

Starting point is 00:02:38 And I don't blame him, but doing this in back-to-back gears, it's kind of annoying. It just holds everything up, right? Like, we're all waiting. He's the top domino. You got to fall, dude, for the rest of us to figure out what we're doing. E. E.U. H.N.E.O.S. follows him. And so far, but recent moves have been made that had begun to, stir the Nolan Aronado pot a little bit,

Starting point is 00:03:03 which is great news for the Cardinals because we really don't. It's not that there's a problem with Nolan Aronado. It's just that it's time to move on. All right. We, we, we, it's just time. We can't do this again where he comes back to say, we even gave him a chance to say goodbye to the fans, like had him go out to his position and then tip his cap and leave.

Starting point is 00:03:24 Like, we can't come back from this, can we? Can't have him back on the team again. And as annoying as this Bregman thing is, it's also annoying that for a second straight year, the Cardinals are trying to deal away the future Hall of Famer and there just hasn't been a whole lot of interest in him or a need for Nolan Aronado just yet at this stage of his career. And it's a shame because for a decade, he was the third baseman in Major League Baseball. Perennial Platinum Glob Award winner also led the league in the National League at home runs in three seasons.

Starting point is 00:03:58 Like he was the dude, man. He would mash. He would play defense. He had the attitude. He was the guy you wanted. And at this point in his career, he's kind of a shell of his former self. And it's sad to watch.

Starting point is 00:04:11 He's not a scrub by any means, but he's not that same cleanup hitter slunger that he used to be. The OPS Plus has dipped every year since his last MVP caliber campaign back in 2022. When it was at 151. And he had a war of 7.9 and we're like, dude, this is the guy. This is, you know, this is going to be the dude that takes us, you know, into the next big thing for the Cardinals. And it just didn't happen. Both him and Goldie fall off a cliff after that 2022 campaign. Last year, the OPS Plus was down to 87. The lowest it's been in a

Starting point is 00:04:43 full season since his rookie year. And his war fell to a career low 1.3. Now, injuries are at issue. They limited him to 107 games, which is also a major red flag for any aging player, hence the hesitation from any team looking for a third baseman to come snatch him from St. Louis before any of these other guys signed. But one team is beginning to emerge as a solid candidate for Aronado, and that's the Los Angeles Angels. Now, that team has not had a great run with third baseman in the recent past when they forked over that small fortune to have Anthony Rindone hardly play baseball for them at all. Over the last, what, five seasons that he was there, they gave that man a seven-year, $245 million contract. And I remember the day that it happened and I was like, what are you doing? And he,

Starting point is 00:05:30 you know, he was good at that COVID season for him, which was his first year in L.A. But after that, it's been a mess because of injuries. He's played in a grand total of 257 games over five seasons and hit 22 home runs. And that includes that 2020 COVID season. So if you take that away, his numbers are way worse. The combined OPS Plus is 86. The total war is 1.7. seven total over five seasons. So to say it didn't work out is putting it rather lightly. But the Angels and Rendon have come to an agreement. They decided to, hey, you're done.

Starting point is 00:06:07 I'm done. Let's move on from this. And they're going to restructure the last year of that contract. He's not going to play for them in 2026. The hip surgery, it's his hip issues that have been the big problem for him. Reports say that he's not retiring. He's not retiring from the game of baseball, though. Wasn't he the one?

Starting point is 00:06:25 one that was like, yeah, I don't really even love baseball all that much. So I don't know who's going to sign this dude. Somebody might get desperate. But he says he's not retiring. We'll remain on the active roster, but he'll be able to get placed on that 60-day injured list before the season to clear a 40-man spot for the Angels. These are $38 million in 26, but it will reportedly will be paid over like several years instead of just like one big mass chunk of, you know, paying them over the season.

Starting point is 00:06:52 So now that Rendon is out of the way, which, Cheneau makes my boys over at Locktown Angels extremely happy. It opens up a path for someone else to step in. And the name that continues to be brought up is Nolan Aronado. He grew up in Southern California. So going to L.A. would probably appeal to him because he does have the no trade clause. So that's a thing. The Angels haven't done a ton of winning in recent years, but they've been making additions.

Starting point is 00:07:18 And this offseason, they've significantly signed pitching pieces to bring into their roster. You know, they brought in Kirby Yates brand new signing. Alec Manoa, who we know was really, really good with the Blue Jays early on in his career. And then injuries have derailed his career. Grayson Rodriguez. Again, injuries, but high ceiling was once thought of as one of the top pitchers in baseball, like young pitchers coming up. Drew Pomeranz, who just had a significantly good year for the Cubs. And, you know, that is like a bounce back season from where he'd been.

Starting point is 00:07:54 Jordan Romano, who ended up with the Phillies. It was pretty good with Toronto before that. Phillies not so good last year, but another arm that's got closing experience to bring in. Utility man, Von Grisham, who was a guy that the Red Sox thought was going to be something special. That didn't seem to work out, but maybe he finds it in L.A.

Starting point is 00:08:14 They've still got Mike Trout, who despite not being the superstar that he once was, still had an OPS Plus of 121. We think about, oh, Trout, he's the downside of his career, OPS Plus. us of 21. So pretty good. Joe Adele, had that breakout season, Zach Nettto, Nolan, Shaunawell, Christian Moore, Logan O'Hoppy. These are all young, controllable players on the roster already. So they are building something decent in LA. So they're on the way up. This isn't

Starting point is 00:08:43 where the Cardinals are, where they're tearing down to start building up. They're a year or two down the road already from where the Cardinals are. So perhaps that would appeal to Nolan, and where they're a team on the up and up instead of one that's coming down at the moment. And who better to help nurture these young minds with Mike Trout? You get a chance to play with Mike Trout. That's pretty cool. Then Nolan Aronado. So it makes a lot of sense for both sides.

Starting point is 00:09:07 Aronado isn't the guy he used to be, but he's going to give them more than Anthony Rendon has given him over the last four seasons. And the Cardinals would definitely, you know, they're going to have to eat a major chunk of the remaining salary. We know this. along with Colorado already pitching in as well. So you're going to have two teams helping pay the salary of the third baseman for the Angels, if that's where Nolan Aronado ends up. Ken Rosenthal also mentioned that Arizona could pivot to Nolan Aronado as well if they don't sign Bergman or Svarez or, you know, go in some other direction that, you know, that's a possibility as well.

Starting point is 00:09:44 I think Arizona would be an awesome fit as well. That's another team that's got a lot of young talent on the up and up. thought they were going to be much better than they were last year. And they ended up trading people away at the deadline and then went on a run late to almost squeeze into the playoffs. So I think that would be a cool fit for Aronado. And I've already mentioned it before that if they bring in Paul Goldsmith to play first base for them, that, you know, having him and Nato together again in Arizona, I think that

Starting point is 00:10:10 would be a cool story for both of them. So that would interest me if I was Dolan Aronado as well. So if Scott Boris and Alex Breggman could just, you know, kind of get their crap together so the rest of us can move on with our lives. That would be great. Signed the rest of Major League Baseball. Let's go. Let's get the show on the road. We're going to discuss Britonovan next and what Seattle apparently isn't willing to do to facilitate a deal between themselves and St. Louis. That's coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. Friday's already feel different during basketball season and Fandul is making them even better. Every Friday

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Starting point is 00:12:06 members only discord access, where we can all chat together and more, all for just five bucks a month or $50 a year. If you want to go that route, go to locked on STL Cardinals. dot supercast.com or check the link in the show notes to learn more. All right, Britta Donovan, still a Cardinal. Some fans would love to keep it that way. I personally, I'm totally fine if they hang on to him. I don't want to trade him away. I would love to have him around to teach the Cardinal way to someone like J.J. Weatherholt.

Starting point is 00:12:38 You know, if you're going to have a veteran on the team to teach the Cardinal way, why not somebody who's been a cardinal his whole life? A guy like Brennan Donovan makes a ton of sense. And I totally understand why fans are like, why would we want to trade him? It makes no sense. But I understand why they deal them away because, you know, the demand is there. You know, the question now is what is the asking, Bryce? What are we asking in return for Brendan Donovan?

Starting point is 00:13:02 We've heard the rumors that, you know, the prospects that possibly could come back to the Cardinals in return for him. But what if High Bloom doesn't want just prospects? What if he's aiming to land some established? major league talent in this deal as well. Because if that's the case that apparently Seattle is not willing to budge on that type of a trade, according to reports the Mariners are reluctant to deal anyone from their big league roster to make a trade happen. Ryan Divish at the Seattle Times wrote that the M's are willing to move top pitching prospect.

Starting point is 00:13:35 Gerangelo, I always screw up his name. I should have wrote this down better. I'm sorry. You know, the guy that throws from both sides. Sengi, I think is what it is, and a package for Cardinals Enfielder, Brinand Donovan, but are less inclined to trade anyone from the big league roster to get him. He adds that president of baseball ops, Jerry DePoto, NGM, Justin Hollander, excuse me, have both been adamant about not wanting to trade an established big league starter as they look to bolster the lineup. Now, it has been a dream of a lot of Cardinal

Starting point is 00:14:07 fans for a while now to get one of the. starters from the Meriters, like Bryce Miller, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert. Those were the three people wanted. People, you know, they said Brian Wu for a while, but he's kind of been, become their ace along with Luis Castillo now. So those other three, though, were the names that always seem to be brought up, Miller, Kirby, Gilbert. And if this all rings true, that it seems like those dreams are going to have to remain dreams because the Mariners don't appear to want to move any of those guys from their current rotation. But, you know, I will say this. I respect High Bloom for not giving in if that's what is holding things up here. You know, if your intention is to trade someone,

Starting point is 00:14:54 then it's real easy to just give it and say, okay, fine, we can do a lesser deal and, you know, you crumble. But it appears that Haim has dug in, made his demands on a deal for Donovan. He recognizes his worth and he's not going to budge from that. So that's awesome. if you're a St. Louis Cardinal fan because it's not a, it shows that it's not a guy who's going to get taken advantage of. And we've said it from the get-go. He doesn't have to trade Donovan, but is willing to listen. And if a deal makes sense for the organization,

Starting point is 00:15:21 then he'd be more than willing to pull the trigger. But he's not in a spot where he has to get rid of him due to the amount of money that Brynan Donovan is making or his contract status. I mean, we're getting closer to that as free agency for Donovan starts to creep up. But as of right now, you don't have to move them. And I know people are excited about Sanja, Gerangelo Sanja, you know, throws both lefty and righty. That's pretty cool.

Starting point is 00:15:51 Like, I think that would be a neat. I don't know if it's just a parlor trick. I don't know if that's something they would actually have him do in the major leagues. I don't know. I've never seen anything like that, really. So I know the Montez guy that they like, too, the power hit. that's another guy that I think that fans are very much into as far as getting, what is it, Lazardo, yeah, Lizarro Montes.

Starting point is 00:16:18 Yeah, I know that's a guy that people want just because of the power that he could bring. It's something that the Cardinals don't have a lot of in their system right now. So, but if Hime has said, yo, I need somebody who can contribute to my 2026 roster. I need somebody who's going to be on it right away instead of just prospects. And if that's not what Seattle's offering, then you go somewhere else. You've got other teams outside of Seattle that seem interested in Donnie. You've got, you know, obviously our new best friends, the Boston Red Sox, who we know are willing to deal.

Starting point is 00:16:50 The Giants, the Royals, those are games that have been mentioned. But what intrigues me most about Seattle and why I kind of want to do business with them is the, first off, quality of the farm system, the prospects that they've got. So they've got better prospects, which means making a deal with them. The odds are good that you're going to net somebody that will make a difference for you in the future. So top-notch farm system and the fact that they were so close to the World Series this past season that, you know, if they feel that Brett and Donovan can be enough of a game changer and that missing piece to get them there in 2026, they might be willing to part with more assets to get them to complete that puzzle.

Starting point is 00:17:32 You know, I don't want to say the word desperation, but when you think about like, you're so close to something, you're going to let one measly player stand in the way of you going to a World Series next year. That's what you're telling me. You can use, you know, that kind of wisdom and use that type of manipulation against Seattle to see if you can get them to bunch. But we'll see. Both sides seem to be kind of chill right now, but, you know, going into the new year now,

Starting point is 00:18:02 maybe things will get moving. Speaking of puzzles, the Cardinals continue to keep an eye out for, you know, any pieces that will make sense for that major league roster in 2026. A veteran starter is something we've heard brought up before. They've mentioned a few times, actually. And one of the guys that a lot of fans thought would be an excellent addition, including myself, has found himself a new home. So we'll discuss that and where star Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imi has decided to play. talk about it next on Locked on Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:18:36 Thanks for making Locked on Cardinals, your first listen of the day. And thank you for making Locked on the number one sports podcast network. Now, when I say the name Tyler Malley, what do you think? It's one of the names that some thought, including myself, would look kind of good. We're in a Cardinal uniform. He's one of many veteran pitchers who are out there who have had some pretty good success in the major leagues at some point or another. but coming off injury-riddled season that, you know, is hindering him from signing a big free agent deal.

Starting point is 00:19:10 And those are the kind of guys that the Cardinals are hoping to take advantage of this year. Pitchers who want to improve their stock on a short-term deal so that they can make more money, prove to the rest of the league that, hey, I am legit, I am pretty good, and sign a larger deal after that. They would basically be using the Cardinals to spring forward their career and make it a better. better one for them financially. It's what Dustin May is doing. That's exactly what he's doing.

Starting point is 00:19:38 And Tyler Malley is going to be doing the same thing, just not in St. Louis. The 31-year-old has reportedly agreed on a one-year deal with the San Francisco Giants worth $10 million, which is not a whole lot. When healthy, Malley has been very good. But injuries have plagued him for a few seasons now, including last year when he only made 16 starts. But he was very good in those 16 starts for Texas 2.180 RA. The Giants, you know, they've put together a decent rotation here. It's a veteran one. You got Adrian Houser, Tyler Malley, Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, and Landon Roup. That would be their rotation heading into next season, which also leaves names like Hayden Burttsong and Carson Wisenhunt on the outside looking in. Now the Giants can look at

Starting point is 00:20:24 that as depth or does it mean that one of those guys might be available to the Cardinals in a possible trade for Brendan Donovan. We know the Giants for somebody who was interested. So something to think about that, you know, adding another arm might mean that one of those younger guys will be available now. The Houston Astros made a big splash on Monday. Well, not Monday. What is today? Thursday.

Starting point is 00:20:46 Feels like a Monday because it's the first of the year, but it's Thursday. Made a big splash on Thursday landing star Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Iemi, who has reportedly agreed to a three-year deal worth $54 million. It could reach as high as 63 million with incentives, but he also has opt outs after each season. These opt outs are becoming such a thing now where players can just, we're going to turn this three-year deal into a one-year deal where I'm out of here. Opt-outs, deferred money seemingly on any deal. Anyone signs anymore, I'm sure we'll have more about that during the new CBA chats that are going to be happening leading into the 2027 season.

Starting point is 00:21:25 Hopefully not a lockout. Come on, guys. Come on. Anyway, according to reports, EMI had offers for longer contracts, but less average annual value or AAB is the abbreviation for it. So I decided to go with Houston. He's got the opt-outs, can make a decent chunk of change, or he could hit free agency again if he tears it up with the Astros this year. 27 years old, three-time All-Star and the NPB, including both 24 and 25, ERA under three, struck out more than a batter per inning in each of his past three seasons. It was 10 and five in Japan last year. Career best 1.92 ERA, 178 strikeouts and 163 and two-thirds innings. I know that there was chatter that, you know, teams like the

Starting point is 00:22:08 Mets and the Yankees and other guys might have been in on him, but apparently reports have come out today that that really wasn't the case. They weren't really all that close to anything. The starting pitching market, maybe it starts moving a little more now that EMA is out of there. You've still got former Astro, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, formerly a Philly. He's unsigned. Former Cardinal prospect, Zach Gallens out there, Lucas Gialito, of course, that boy, Mad Max Scherzer, Justin Burlander, Chris Bassett. So you got two Hall of Famers on that list. Anybody still think that Max could come to St. Louis?

Starting point is 00:22:43 Anybody? I don't know. I never thought so. The Giants have moved on from Burlander. Would he be someone that you'd have interest in at the right price if you're thinking about all right, we need a veteran to come in and kind of help out this young rotation the Cardinals have put together. Again, I think both of them would prefer to play for contending teams.

Starting point is 00:23:01 Just if you're going to sign somewhere, stay away from the NL Central. Like, don't go to Milwaukee. Stay away from the Cubs. Don't go there. Please and thank you. Stay out of the NL Central. If you guys are going to do it. I'm still looking at lefties for the Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:23:16 That's still where I'm intrigued at, both at starter and reliever. Cardinals have very little left-handed depth right now in their organization. So I'm still keeping an eye on guys like Jose Cantana, Danny Colum, Andrew Chafin. Those are names that I'm still eyeballing. They aren't like, I don't want to say it's a wish list because I'm not like begging for these guys to show up. But I'm certainly interested in them and think they'd be a good fit with the Cardinals and what they're trying to accomplish in 2026. But still got quite a few familiar names that are available reliever-wise too. David Robertson still out there.

Starting point is 00:23:49 Sir Anthony Dominguez, Liam Hendricks. That would be a cool one, I think. Michael Copac, a lot of injuries there. Evan Phillips, St. Louis native. Ryan Stanick, he's still out there as well. So if any of those names interest you, hit me up down below in the comments section. We can chat about them in an upcoming episode.

Starting point is 00:24:09 Big thank you to all of you for making lockdown cardinals. Your first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on X at L.O. underscore Cardinals into JD Sports Radio, TikTok, and Instagram, and Lockdown Cardinals. Please like, subscribe on YouTube, help our channel and love for the Cardinals grow.

Starting point is 00:24:22 If you're on the video portion of this, send you to the first ever 24-7 National Lockdown Podcast Network YouTube channel on audio. Make sure your second listen is Locked on MLB. With our boy over there. Sully, check them out.

Starting point is 00:24:38 You're the best fans of baseball for a reason. I'll see you next time on Lockdown Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals Trade Rumors HEAT UP Around Nolan Arenado & Brendan Donovan!

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