Cardinals' former All Star could be a surprise trade target for Orioles in offseason

Despite their success over the past two years, the Orioles still have some roster needs to address this winter. They'll likely look to add another top-tier starting pitcher to replace Corbin Burnes, and they'll have to find a way to replace Anthony Santander's production at the plate. There has also been talk about looking to make an upgrade at first base, potentially moving one of Ryan Mountcastle or Ryan O'Hearn in the process. But the rest of the infield seems to be relatively set.

However, the surprising news that Cardinals' third baseman Nolan Arenado could be hitting the trade market this winter might have Orioles' GM Mike Elias thinking twice about Baltimore's infield needs.

On paper, Arenado isn't a perfect fit in Baltimore. For one, the Orioles already have the trio of Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, and Jackson Holliday essentially locked into the left side of the infield. And for another, Arenado just had one of the worst years of his career at the plate in St. Louis.

Nolan Arenado might be a better fit for the Orioles than we think

Despite the obvious flaws, there's reason to believe that it would be a good idea for the Orioles to target Arenado. Despite coming off a down year at the plate, Arenado is still an above average hitter. He'll be entering his age-34 season having just hit .272/.325/.394. He still possesses elite plate discipline and is one of the better defensive third basemen in the league, even at his age.

One obvious drawback is that Arenado looks to be losing a bit of power as he enters his mid-30's, and Baltimore's newly designed left field wall will sap that power even more. However, Arenado wouldn't need to be a 30 homer guy in Baltimore to be worth the cost to acquire him.

Arenado has three years left on his contract. All three will come with a $25 million per year hit against the CBT, but the actual cash payout is significantly less thanks to $50 million of his total contract being deferred out to 2041.

Because of his no-trade clause, it'll be tough to put together a trade package that both works for St. Louis and gets Arenado to agree to a deal. If he's looking to head to a team with a chance to win in 2025 though, it's tough to find a better spot than Baltimore.

Pairing Arenado with Henderson on the left side of the infield would make for an elite defensive duo. It would also free up Westburg to handle the everyday second base duties and relieve most of the pressure from having to watch Holliday struggle as an every day player at such a young age.

Arenado would also give Brandon Hyde another solid right handed hitter to utilize in a lineup filled with lefties. It would be a bit of an unorthodox move to acquire him, but there are reasons to think that adding a former All Star, a good hitter, and a veteran clubhouse leader to a roster filled with younger guys would be a good move for the team.

It's an exceedingly unlikely move, to be sure. But the payoff could be high enough to draw the interest of the Orioles front office. We'll have to wait to see how the Cardinals handle the situation, and see if he eventually does get moved.