Nolan Arenado could fit as a Seattle Mariners trade target

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The Seattle Mariners still have some holes to fill even after baseball’s annual winter meetings came to a close this week in Orlando, Fla.

Their top priority seems pretty clear, too.

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“It seems to me that they’re looking for one more infielder but not two,” said MLB Network insider Jon Morosi, who was at the winter meetings, during his weekly conversation Thursday with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.

That one infielder could be Jorge Polanco, who is a free agent after a strong year with Seattle. There has also been plenty of talk about a potential trade to reunite with Ketel Marte, who has been one of the top hitters in baseball over the past seven seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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Morosi had another name that could be a potential option: veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado, whose time with the St. Louis Cardinals appears to be over even though the 34 year old is under contract for two more years.

The Cardinals went 78-84 last season, and Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said “we all feel like it’s best to find a different fit” last month in regard to Arenado.

Arenado has had a storied career, winning 10 Gold Gloves, six Platinum Gloves and five Silver Sluggers, and making eight All-Star Game appearances over his 13 MLB seasons with Colorado and St. Louis. He has played in just four postseasons and eight total playoff games, though.

With the Mariners coming off of their first American League West title and AL Championship Series appearance in 24 years, they could be the kind of team Arenado would like to add his veteran presence to.

“The thing about Nolan is I think he wants to be in a winning environment,” Morosi said. “I think in some ways he’d be a really nice player to add to the Mariners mix because I think he would be a good mentor for (25-year-old third baseman Ben) Williamson.”

Arenado had one of his roughest seasons in 2025, slashing .237/.289/.377 for a .666 OPS with 12 home runs in 107 games. He still had a productive 1.3 fWAR, though, and Morosi said it’s likely the Cardinals would provide financial compensation in order to move his contract that has $31 million left on it.

“The Cardinals are probably going to pay down that salary a lot and it’s just a matter of finding the right place for him,” Morosi said. “So if they pay down that salary to where the Mariners only have to spend, let’s just say, $2 million to have Nolan Arenado on your team, I think you do that.”

Morosi has a confident view of what Arenado could do in a Mariners uniform.

“I think he’s got a good chance to bounce back. I think he’d be a great addition, and really (would give) this young team a real sense of resolve,” he said. “Obviously they’ve got their own resolve losing Game 7 of the ALCS, but Nolan has been oh-so-close in different playoff situations in the past. Like, he’s got a real hunger to win.”

Hear the full Wyman and Bob conversation with MLB Network insider Jon Morosi in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Catch Wyman and Bob from 2-7 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.