3 sensible St. Louis Cardinals trade targets for KC Royals

The Kansas City Royals’ offseason offers an intriguing case study for baseball minds. While the team’s willingness to spend is still developing, it’s clearly present, as evidenced by the recent signing of Michael Wacha. Still, the Royals don’t have a deep pool of prospects to leverage in trade talks, with many holding more value to Kansas City than to other organizations. Combined with heightened expectations after a 30-win improvement, these factors place the Royals in a unique position within the offseason hierarchy, one that demands creativity as the team shapes their 2025 roster.

The Royals can’t outspend or out-trade most teams, or even come close in either category. Instead, they need calculated gambles — moves that might be routine for other franchises but could be transformative for Kansas City. Could the Royals turn to their sister club across the state for help?

If the St. Louis Cardinals are open to the idea, here are three potential options to address the Royals' needs, even if they come at a hefty price.

Nolan Arenado, 3B

This offseason's free-agent market at third base leaves a bit to be desired. Sure, longtime Houston Astros player Alex Bregman is going to be paid handsomely, but behind him, there aren't a lot of options. Kansas City could gamble on bounce-back candidates like Jorge Polanco or Yoán Moncada, but those are just two of many short-term options at the position.

If the Royals want to make a sure-fire improvement at the hot corner and make a big splash, could they target third baseman Nolan Arenado?

A 10-time Gold Glove winner and eight-time All-Star, Arenado has been one of MLB’s premier third basemen for over a decade. He established himself as a force with the Colorado Rockies throughout the 2010s, posting an impressive .890 OPS and 40.1 bWAR across eight seasons. However, as Colorado struggled to field competitive teams, Arenado’s prime years were spent on losing rosters. The Rockies ultimately traded him to the Cardinals in a blockbuster deal, and Arenado has largely lived up to expectations.

Arenado was a prime NL MVP candidate in 2022, delivering a 7.7 bWAR season with a .293/.358/.533 slash line. However, his offensive production has declined over the past two seasons, hitting several career lows since his rookie year in 2013. Despite a 102 wRC+ and 3.1 fWAR in 2024, Arenado remains a valuable player — just not one who fully justifies the price tag of his contract.

Arenado wouldn’t come cheap, but his contract isn’t an unmanageable burden. The 33-year-old is under contract for three more seasons, with $74 million owed during that span. Thanks to the Rockies covering $5 million annually in 2025 and 2026, St. Louis is responsible for $64 million — about $20 million per year. By modern MLB standards, that’s a fair price for a star at his position, even one past his prime. The Cardinals could sweeten the deal by absorbing more of Arenado’s contract, but that would likely require the acquiring team to part with more prospect capital.

The Cardinals aren’t in a position to trade Nolan Arenado for pennies on the dollar, but they appear open to the possibility. Earlier this month, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the team was gauging trade interest in the star third baseman before initiating discussions with Arenado about a potential deal. It’s a challenging situation for St. Louis, but a reshuffling front office and back-to-back disappointing seasons signal that change may be on the horizon for the storied franchise.

Still, Kansas City would have several hoops to jump through to make this trade happen. First, they’d need to convince Arenado to waive his no-trade clause by proving they’re serious about contending and making a deep postseason run. Next, the Royals would also need to part with valuable prospects, as Arenado will attract significant interest on the trade market.

With a clear need at third base and limited options in free agency, exploring a trade is the next logical step for Kansas City. To get something, you have to give something — but landing Arenado would do wonders for the Royals' outlook in 2025.

LHP John King

The Cardinals' most appealing bullpen target is right-handed closer Ryan Helsley, one of the few success stories in their pitching pipeline. With 49 saves and a 2.04 ERA in 2024, Helsley is set to be one of the top prizes on the trade market. His price tag, though, would likely give most teams — including that Royals — serious pause. If Kansas City is looking for controllable, reliable relief without the sticker shock, lefty John King could be the smarter move.

King arrived in St. Louis via a 2023 trade with the Texas Rangers, included as part of the package for pitchers Chris Stratton and Jordan Montgomery — both key contributors to the Rangers’ World Series run that year. Initially seen as a trade sweetener, King has become a solid addition for the Cardinals, posting a 2.52 ERA and 1.23 WHIP since joining. While he won’t rack up strikeouts, averaging just 5.5 K/9 over 76 games, he keeps walks down, induces groundballs, and relies on strong infield defense to get outs.

King isn’t a reliever with much upside potential. He rarely induces swinging strikes, recording a career-low 7.9% whiff rate in 2024. However, he often gets ahead in the count and locates well against right-handed hitters. His sinker — thrown 58.8% of the time last season — was one of the most effective pitches on the Cardinals' staff. It’s his go-to, backed by a four-seam fastball and a changeup that help keep batters off balance.

The Royals bullpen could be lefty-heavy heading into 2025. Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch IV, and Sam Long are a few of the notable southpaws Kansas City has at its disposal. However, with the team considering stretching Bubic and Lynch back out as starters, there’s a mild but present need for lefty relief. Long, Angel Zerpa, and newcomer Evan Sisk could be options, but they’re the only other lefty arms on the 40-man roster. King could bring some much-needed stability to that role in Kansas City.

King was the quintessential middle-leverage arm for the Cardinals last season. With 1.00 as an average leverage situation, King’s leverage when entering the game was exactly that — 1.00. He wasn’t reliable in high-leverage spots, but that’s never been his calling card at the MLB level. King is a dependable middle-innings guy against the bottom half of the order or when the matchup is favorable. Nothing more, nothing less.

King wouldn’t be a headline-grabbing acquisition, but he’d be a solid move to lift the floor of Kansas City’s bullpen while marginally raising its ceiling. Entering his first arbitration year, King has three years of team control remaining — likely covering his most effective seasons. With St. Louis potentially a couple of years away from contention, Kansas City could see value in maximizing King’s performance on a team-friendly contract. If they believe they can tap into his potential, this would be a smart, low-risk gamble.