New twist in the Nolan Arenado saga could put him back in the Cubs' crosshairs

For years, there's been speculation connecting Nolan Arenado to the Chicago Cubs. One big problem? He's in the final years of a high-dollar contract and plays for the St. Louis Cardinals - a team that rarely makes deals with their NL Central foe.

The last time Chicago and St. Louis hooked up on a deal came nearly two decades ago - in 2007. Still, the Cubs have a potential need at third base, evidenced by their reported interest in Alex Bregman, and there's a new sheriff in town in Chaim Bloom, who took over from longtime head of baseball operations John Mozeliak at the end of the 2025 season.

He may not have the aversion to trading within the division his predecessor possessed, especially as he's faced with a top-to-bottom rebuild of an organization that's fallen on hard times after a multi-decade run as one of the National League's premier clubs.

Nolan Arenado is open to splitting time between first and third in 2026

That, paired with the fact that Cardinals ownership is reportedly open to eating money (evidenced by the details of the recent Sonny Gray trade with the Red Sox), and it you can start to see how a deal might come together. But a new development only cranks the dial up another notch: Arenado is open to splitting time between both corner infield spots.

Here's more on the situation, courtesy of Katie Woo and Will Sammon:

"There will be teams willing to take Arenado if a majority of his contract is paid down. Arenado has roughly $40 million remaining over the final two years of his deal. Similar to last offseason, it’s believed he’s also willing to split time between third and first base to free up position flexibility if needed. But many other factors, including player preference and timing, will need to come into play. Right now, all Arenado and the Cardinals can do is wait."

The Cubs quietly have one of the league's best first basemen in Michael Busch but, to this point, they've used him as a platoon piece, shielding him from left-handed pitching. Maybe that changes or maybe they see newcomer Tyler Austin as his next platoon partner - but maybe they are looking for an established veteran presence to shore up the corner infield depth.

Arenado isn't what he once was but, deployed correctly, he could still bring value to a Cubs ball club that got next to no production off the bench last year. Letting him split time at the corners with Shaw and Busch could help Craig Counsell keep guys fresh down the stretch and, hopefully, put the team in a position to make another October run.