Nolan Arenado completely shut down an Angels trade despite prior reporting

The Los Angeles Angels were, and to an extent still are, desperate to find an every day third baseman to finally replace the broken down Anthony Rendon. According to The Athletic's Katie Woo, early in the offseason Perry Minasian was firing off phone calls to the St. Louis Cardinals' president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak, in an attempt to pry away Nolan Arenado. Unfortunately for the Angels, the future Hall of Fame third baseman had no interest in coming to Anaheim for the next (and possibly last) chapter of his career. Woo also reported he shot down joining the Royals, Tigers and any team that's not the Yankees, Dodgers, Padres, or Red Sox.

Woo broke down the Angels' failed trade attempts in her article:

"Arenado wasn’t going to accept a trade just anywhere. Should he be dealt, it would be to a team that had firmly put itself in a position to contend for a World Series or a team that was planning to in the near future.

That’s why talks with the Tigers, Royals and Angels never got off the ground. Those teams were viewed as non-starters by the player, a source described, and no substantial discussions took place."

Katie Woo

This might not be too shocking, as players of Arenado's stature (despite his down year in 2024) do not choose to play for the Angels often. Arenado has a no-trade clause, and wants to go somewhere to compete for his first ever MLB championship. However, there were reports floating around in December that Arenado would, in fact, waive his no-trade clause if an Angels trade came about. Arenado is from Newport Beach, CA and went to El Toro High School in Lake Forest, CA, so there was some speculation that he would want to play close to home.

Nolan Arenado completely shut down an Angels trade despite prior reporting

John Denton, MLB.com's Cardinals beat writer, inaccurately reported that the Angels, Mets, and Phillies were on Arenado's wish list. He also left out the Yankees as being on his preferred teams. Denton wrote that Arenado did not factor in a team's geographical location much, but said he would join the Angels anyway despite the team's non-contender status and knowing he wants to win with his next team. Denton also said the list of team's he'd join is “bigger than you might think” which also turned out to be false. Tough look.

If you're wondering, Nolan Arenado grew up rooting for the Dodgers, and was not actually an Angels fan. While he grew up just down the road from Angels Stadium, attended many games and has a ton of family members in Orange County, he clearly does not have deep enough personal ties to the Halos that would persuade him to join the team. If the Dodgers were emerging from a 99-loss season, perhaps he would allow his nostalgia to dissuade him from ring-chasing? Guess we'll never know. The irony of this whole situation is that Arenado is prioritizing winning over everything, but is still stuck on a pretty bad Cardinals team. A tough looks once again.

At least the Astros got embarrassed during this entire debacle. Now, Arenado could still possibly waive his no-trade clause to join Houston, as it is widely reported that he will get moved before Opening Day... but blocking a trade to them earlier this offseason was utterly hilarious. To recap: Arenado originally listed Houston alongside the Yankees, Dodgers, Padres, and Red Sox as a team he would waive his no-trade clause for. However, as Woo reports, the Astros trading Kyle Tucker and likely losing Alex Bregman (which they eventually did, of course) caused Arenado to block them. In Arenado's eyes, he viewed the Astros as non-contenders. Welcome to the Angels' level, Astros! TOUGH LOOK!! (They're totally going to get him now).

The Angels will be moving forward with some third base combination of Yoán Moncada, Luis Rengifo, Scott Kingery, Christian Moore, Kevin Newman, J.D. Davis, and Matthew Lugo in 2025 and beyond. Maybe Ethan Holliday one day if the Nationals pass on him in the 2025 MLB Draft? Whatever the rotation is, third base remains an incredibly volatile position for the Halos. Moncada and Rengifo both have a not insignificant injury history and both of their contracts expire at the end of the season. Moore and Lugo can slide into third at times, but their more natural positions are elsewhere (both might become full-time outfielders one day).

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