PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks tried to trade All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte, flirted with free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, and wound up Tuesday acquiring Nolan Arenado.
This outcome wasn’t on the D-backs’ winter bingo card, but for a team trying to stay competitive in the National League West while still reducing payroll, they’ll take it.
Certainly, acquiring a 10-time Gold Glove winner and eight-time All-Star for the price of a fringe prospect, with the Cardinals paying most of Arenado’s salary, turned out to be a perfect fit. Arenado still has two years and $42 million left on his contract, but the Cardinals are paying $31 million of his deal, wity the D-backs responsible for just $5 million this year and $6 million in 2027.
They didn’t even have to give up a top-30 prospect with right-hander Jack Martinez, an eighth-round draft pick from Arizona State a year ago, going to the Cardinals. Martinez has yet to make his professional debut.
“We think he really solidifies our defense in the infield,’’ said Mike Hazen, D-backs president of baseball operations. “That’s been a priority for us to improve our defense, which I believe is going to have a direct impact on our pitching in a significant way.’
Really, the trade was made to accommodate Arenado, 34. He didn’t want to remain in St. Louis since they are in a full-scale rebuild, and the Cardinals wanted to give playing time to their young players.
Certainly, the Cardinals would have received a much greater return a year ago but Arenado exercised his no-trade rights to veto a trade to the Houston Astros. He also told the Cardinals that he didn’t want to join the Los Angeles Angels after they expressed interest. His hope was to be traded last spring to the Boston Red Sox and join his former Colorado Rockies teammate Trevor Story, but the Red Sox instead signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million contract.
The Red Sox lost Bregman on Saturday when he signed a five-year, $175 million contract with the Chicago Cubs, but the Red Sox had no interest in Arenado this time around. He fell into the D-backs’ laps when the Cardinals agreed to pay three-quarters of his contract.
The Diamondbacks are hoping that Arenado not only bounces back after his struggles last season, but provides veteran leadership to their young clubhouse. Bregman’s leadership skills also attracted the D-backs, who were interested in potentially signing Bregman, but only if they were able to trade Marte.
“We’ve always liked the way he’s played the game,’’ Hazen said. “The impact he can have when he’s not playing, inside the walls, is important to us. He’s a good fit from that standpoint too.
“I know how much winning means to him, and it’s important to us.’
Arenado, who has a home in Orange County, Calif., told USA TODAY Sports in a text message Tuesday that he is thrilled to be joining the D-backs and will look for a home in the Phoenix area. He used to have a home in Scottsdale when he played for the Colorado Rockies, and was a frequent visitor at former D-backs World Series hero Luis Gonzalez’s home to use his batting cages.
Arenado, 34, has struggled the past two years, but believes he can be a productive third baseman, and optimistic that he will bounce back from last year’s dismal season. He played in only 23 games the second half of last season with a right shoulder strain, hitting just .237 with 12 homers – his lowest total since 2013. Arenado replaces veteran Eugenio Suarez, who was traded to the Seattle Mariners at last year’s trade deadline.
“We definitely see the ability to bounce back here,’ Hazen said. “We’re excited about that. We know how much work he’s going to put into that. I know he’s going to put in every amount of work and energy into doing that, and we probably have a little better ballpark to hit in.
“So, we look for him to be a solid offensive contributor for us in our lineup. With the firepower we have at the top of our lineup, we’re not looking for him to carry the offense. We don’t need him to carry the offense. We need him to solidify and stabilize our defense, that’s a huge component to this.’
The Diamondbacks, who won the National League pennant in 2023 but missed the playoffs the last two seasons, are hoping to stay in contention until their team gets healthy. Ace Corbin Burnes, who signed a $210 million contract last winter, is expected to return in the second half after recovering from Tommy John surgery. They also expect to have left fielder Lourdes Gurriel and co-closers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez back before the end of the season.
They brought back free-agent Merrill Kelly on a two-year contract after trading him to Texas at last year’s deadline, and also signed veteran starter Mike Soroka. They still are searching for bullpen help and signed veteran reliever Jonathan Loaisiga to a minor-league contract Tuesday with an invitation to their spring training camp.
“I don’t think we’re anywhere close to one player away from being the best team we can possibly be,’ Hazen said. “We need to continue to shore up multiple areas of our team, and that includes the bullpen and the position player group. We will see what happens between now and opening day.’’
Nolan Arenado trade details
Cardinals get:
Minor-leaguer Jack Martinez
Diamondbacks get:
3B Nolan Arenado
$31 million
Nolan Arenado contract
2026: $27 million ($5 million paid by Colorado Rockies)
2027: $15 million