The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired eight-time All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado and cash considerations from the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.
The Cardinals received minor league right-hander Jack Martinez to complete the deal for the 10-time Gold Glove winner, who waived his no-trade clause.
“We are grateful for Nolan’s five years as a Cardinal, on and off the field — for his drive, his competitiveness, and for all of the memories he gave us,” said Chaim Bloom, Cardinals president of baseball operations.
“We wish Nolan and his family the very best as he continues with the next chapter of his great career.”
Arenado, 34, has two seasons remaining on an eight-year, $260 million contract.
He is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he posted 162-game season career lows in batting average (.237), on-base percentage (.289), slugging percentage (.377) and OPS (.666).
Arenado recorded just 12 homers and 52 RBIs in 107 games, with a shoulder injury causing him to miss six-plus weeks.
Still, that’s a sharp drop in production for a player who has smacked 30 or more homers seven times. Five of those seasons were played in the mile-high altitude of the Colorado Rockies’ ballpark in Denver and two occurred in St. Louis.
Martinez, 22, pitched collegiately at Trinity University (Texas), Louisiana-Lafayette and Arizona State. He was 6-4 with a 5.47 ERA in 15 starts for the Sun Devils in 2025.
Martinez was selected by the Diamondbacks in the eighth round of the 2025 MLB Draft.
“As we continue to move forward, we are pleased to add another intriguing pitching prospect to our organization, and excited for the opportunity this move creates for a number of our players to step up and further establish themselves at the big league level,” Bloom said.
–Field Level Media
