Arizona Diamondbacks trade for St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado

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Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to trade pitcher Jack Martinez to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado and cash considerations, the teams announced Tuesday.

Arenado is owed a total of $42 million over the next two seasons, but sources told MLB.com, The Athletic and The Arizona Republic that the Diamondbacks will receive $31 million in the deal.

"We are grateful for Nolan's five years as a Cardinal, on and off the field -- for his drive, his competitiveness, and for all of the memories he gave us," Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said in a news release.

"As we continue to move forward, we are pleased to add another intriguing pitching prospect to our organization, and excited for the opportunity this move creates for a number of our players to step up and further establish themselves at the big league level."

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Arenado, 34, hit a career-low .237 with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs over 107 games last season for the Cardinals. He hit .272 with 16 homers and 71 RBIs over 152 appearances in 2024. The eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner hit .282 with 353 home runs and 1,184 RBIs over the first 13 years of his career.

Arenado, who signed an eight-year, $260 million deal with the Colorado Rockies in 2019, joined the Cardinals in a 2021 trade. He exercised $25 million player options in 2022 and 2023. He made another $35 million in 2024 and $32 million in 2025. Arenado is set to receive $27 million in 2026, with $5 million paid by the Rockies.

Martinez, 22, was an eighth-round pick by the Diamondbacks in the 2025 MLB Draft. The right-handed pitcher went 6-4 with a 5.47 ERA over 15 starts last season at Arizona State.

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