Kansas City radio host advocates for "bold" KC Royals-St. Louis Cardinals trade

When Kansas City Royals fans tune in for the nightly game, there is a brand of baseball they can certainly expect. They can expect a low-scoring lineup, an overall floundering one outside of shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and the red-hot catcher Salvador Perez. They can expect elite starting pitching, as Kansas City starters are the fourth most valuable group with 3.5 fWAR through 31 games. The bullpen can be a mixed bag at times, but if Lucas Erceg or Carlos Estevez is on the mound, chances are the broadcast ends with a Royals win. But that latter portion, that stumbling lineup, is certainly holding back the Royals' overall outlook in 2025.

There is no question that Kansas City has to do at least something to help the lineup this season. Some fans and pundits think that is fast-tracking top prospect Jac Caglianone to the big leagues, position fit be damned. Others still think about trusting the process and hope that players like first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and second baseman Michael Massey will turn things around as the season progresses. The other school of thought is making a big move ahead of the trade deadline, and 96.5 The Fan's award-winning radio host Bob Fescoe has a specific name in mind.

St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado was among the most buzzworthy trade candidates this past offseason. The NL Central club nearly traded Arenado to the Houston Astros, but the veteran declined to approve the trade. The decision kept Arenado on a middling Cardinals club that wouldn't commit to a complete rebuild or retool, amidst looking to cut payroll and get the franchise back on track after some uncharacteristic years.

With Arenado on fire to start 2025, his name is back on trade-deadline wish lists. After a down year in 2024, marred by career-worst batted-ball metrics and a noticeable dip at the plate and in the field, many front offices quietly passed on him. As he crept into his mid-30s, the fear of a steep decline felt justified. Now, his hot start is flipping that narrative and giving everyone reason to believe the veteran slugger still has plenty left in the tank.

Fescoe is a little off base, saying that a move of this magnitude would be something the franchise has never pulled off. The trade for utilityman Ben Zobrist ahead of the 2015 World Series win comes to mind as the Royals are pursuing a hot bat at the trade deadline, and it is working out in Kansas City's favor. Zobrist's production when he joined Kansas City (122 OPS+) is pretty close to Arenado's current level (109 OPS+), and that isn't considering both players' defensive impact.

At third base, Arenado’s defense is still elite—he sits in the 91st percentile for Statcast’s Outs Above Average and FanGraphs ranks him tied for fifth in Defensive Runs Saved to start the season. His glove remains a game-changer, and his hot start at the plate suggests he’s staved off an offensive decline—at least for now.

Any potential suitor should be in wait-and-see mode regarding Arenado, especially considering he is under contract through 2026. The Cardinals, who are 14-17 to start the season, may not be keen on moving the veteran so early, but Arenado already knows he isn't "part of their future plans." If his current production remains steady and no internal improvements occur in the Royals' lineup, then Fescoe's idea seems like a viable one.