MLB insider sheds light on Nolan Arenado's potential move to Los Angeles Dodgers

Veteran All-Star Nolan Arenado has been a subject of trade talks since the offseason began. The Platinum Glover has reportedly been seeking a move away from St. Louis and has already declined a trade offer from the Houston Astros.

In an interview on the Dodgers Nation channel hosted by Doug McKain, MLB insider Buster Olney discussed Nolan Arenado's rumored move to the defending World Series champions.

"If the Dodgers wanted him, they would have already gotten him," said Olney (21:17 onwards). "It's not a secret that he's been available—and up to this point, it doesn't look like he's at the top of their list of priorities.

Olney cast his doubt about Arenado's move to the Dodgers. The insider stated that a key factor that should be taken into account about Arenado's move is his willingness to compromise in playing within the Dodgers' system.

The MLB expert gave an example about recently-inducted Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki during the latter's time in Seattle for having a reputation of being difficult to deal with when it comes to adjusting his style of play.

Olney stated that Yankees GM Brian Cashman had to walk Ichiro through the intricacies of playing within a system and made sure that the Japanese legend was onboard with the changes.

"A similar conversation has to take place with Nolan Arenado given the Dodgers' culture. An example would be when Chase Utley came in and helped establish the culture of players being okay playing part-time."

McKain, along with Olney, capped off Arenado's situation by citing the situation of Max Muncy. The podcast host shared that a player of Max Muncy's caliber would have easily been a core piece on other teams but because he was with the Dodgers, he had to make way and adapt to the star-studded squad's needs.

Nolan Arenado's Hall of Famer-worthy career

Entering his age 34 season, Nolan Arenado has cemented himself as arguably the best player of his generation at third base. Arenado is a ten-time Gold Glover, eight-time All-Star, six-time Platinum Glover, five-time Silver Slugger, three-time NL home runs leader, and a two-time NL RBI leader.

Arenado has generated a total of 56.7 fWAR throughout his 12-year MLB career. Apart from the 2024 season, the third baseman has either won the Gold Glove or has been selected to an All-Star team in each season of his major league stint.

In addition to his accomplishments in MLB, he's also a two-time medalist in the World Baseball Classic with him being a part of the United States team in 2017's champion and the 2023 runner-up team.