Cubs rival finally unloads their biggest headache in trade with Diamondbacks

Chicago Cubs fans are keeping a close eye on trade rumors involving the St. Louis Cardinals, considering it might be tied to a possible trade of Nico Hoerner. Hoerner is drawing the attention of the San Francisco Giants, who also have an eye on Cardinals' All-Star infielder Brendan Donovan. Elsewhere, St. Louis has finally found a taker for their biggest headache.

The Cardinals have traded Arenado and a significant chunk of the money owed to the former National League MVP to the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitching prospect Jack Martinez. Arizona, in total, will be picking up $11 million of the $42 million owed to Arenado over the next two seasons.

This appears to be the first domino to fall from the Chicago Cubs' signing of Alex Bregman. The Diamondbacks were the other team linked to Bregman, and after deciding to hold onto Ketel Marte, it seems they turned to Arenado to address their need at third base.

Dating back to last offseason, the Cardinals have been trying to find a taker for Arenado. In fact, the Cubs were among the teams to reach out to St. Louis during spring training, but the Cardinals weren't interested in moving the veteran to their division rival.

The Cardinals also had a deal in place with the Houston Astros last offseason before Arendo refused to waive his no-trade clause. Arenado now has a home back on the West Coast and with a team that offers a potential return to the playoffs.

Nolan Arenado trade might unlock the next layer of the Nico Hoerner trade rumors.

Now that the Cardinals have resolved their Arenado issue, they likely will look to finalize a trade of Donovan. It's rare for ESPN's Jeff Passan to tweet out a rumor randomly. While many national reporters have reached a point where most of their tweets still have a level of speculation, Passan has a high bar to clear before putting stuff out there.

Taking Passan's tweet, combined with the Cardinals moving Arenado, and there can be an argument that St. Louis will return to the Giants to complete a Donovan trade. It's also possible that the Giants are using the Cubs and Hoerner as a leverage crutch for those trade talks.

That doesn't mean there isn't a scenario where the Giants truly are in love with Hoerner and willing to make an aggressive offer. The Cubs will need to consider such an offer, regardless of the player; it's what good front offices do.

Regardless, one thing is clear: the Cardinals won't be standing in the way of the Cubs winning the National League Central in 2026.