Arenado willing to waive no-trade clause for Red Sox (source)

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

While it looked for a time that Nolan Arenado could be headed to the Yankees with Paul Goldschmidt, or instead to a Dodgers franchise he rooted for as a kid while growing up in Southern California, a new team has seemingly emerged as a favorite to land the 10-time Gold Glove winner.

The Red Sox have emerged as a strong candidate to land Arenado via a trade from the Cardinals, a source told MLB.com in recent days. Boston could be close to pulling out of the sweepstakes for free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman, who could potentially command a deal worth $200 million, per the source.

Arenado, who is owed $74 million over the next three years, could soon be headed to Fenway Park, a right-handed hitter’s paradise and a place that could revitalize his power slump. The 33-year-old Arenado, who has a full no-trade clause in his contract and flexed it in December to block a potential deal to the Astros, has informed the Cardinals of his willingness to agree to a potential trade to the Red Sox, a source said.

Red Sox shortstop/second baseman Trevor Story, who played with Arenado in Colorado from 2016-20, has been selling his friend on the merits of playing for Boston in recent weeks. However, a Cards-Red Sox swap could be contingent on St. Louis swallowing a sizable chunk of the money still owed to the third baseman and Boston also dealing first baseman Triston Casas for value.

Such a move could aid the Cardinals in clearing their salary commitments and giving more playing time to Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan and No. 4 prospect Thomas Saggese in 2025.