The Los Angeles Dodgers have a little over two weeks to go until the trade deadline, and especially during their worst losing streak since 2017, there are a slew of question marks surrounding the franchise.

Pitching injuries have plagued the team seemingly since spring training, but the most recent notable loss has been to All-Star third baseman Max Muncy, who has put together an incredible first half of the season after immense struggles to kick off 2025, is out with a bone bruise for at least another month.

In order to fill the void at the hot corner, eyes have shifted to St. Louis Cardinals third baseman and eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado.

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Arenado has been linked to the Dodgers for years, but this past offseason intensified the rumors thanks to a social media post back in December, consisting of the Southern California native posting pictures around various landmarks in the LA area, and featuring a song called ‘dodger blue’ by LA-based rapper Kendrick Lamar.

The 34-year-old is an elite defender, and has demonstrated this across his MLB tenure with 10 Gold Gloves and six Platinum Gloves, but his .246 batting average is currently the lowest it has been during his 13 seasons in MLB.

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden recently revealed why he believes the Dodgers say no to a would-be deal.

“The Dodgers say no because they’re not taking on Arenado’s contract at this point in his career and they’re happy with Max Muncy, who is on the injured list but expected to return from his bone bruise well before the end of the regular season.”

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As for Arenado’s contract, the third baseman is due $21 million this season, $16 million in 2026, and $15 million in 2027. For someone who is just about four months younger than Muncy, the contract alone wouldn’t quite make sense for LA.

Muncy is due $14.5 million this season with a $10 million club option in 2026.

Offensively, Muncy is putting up much better stats than Arenado this season, but defensively is where a case can be made. Muncy has an Outs Above Average ranking of -5, good for just the sixth percentile of MLB, whereas Arenado grades out to a score of 3, good for the 85th percentile among qualified fielders.

With Muncy seemingly on the upswing in terms of offensive production, the move to stick with the current third baseman would be more cost efficient, clubhouse-friendly, and seemingly make more sense in the batter’s box.

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