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Trade pitch has Yankees acquiring Nolan Arenado in blockbuster.

The New York Yankees could still use a third baseman and add pitching, and one trade pitch would solve that in a six-player blockbuster deal.

MLB analyst Zach Pressnell of Newsweek proposed a deal that would see the Yankees acquire Nolan Arenado and two others in a blockbuster deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Yankees acquire:

• Nolan Arenado
• Ryan Helsley
• Miles Mikolas
• $25 million cash

Cardinals acquire:

• Bryce Cunningham
• Roderick Arias
• Cam Schittler

The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as the Yankees would acquire three very good MLB players and would get cash for the amount of money they would be taking on. St. Louis, meanwhile, would appear to go full-in on a rebuild with this trade.

Arenado had been linked to the Yankees all offseason. The star third baseman has three years left – including this season – on his eight-year, $260 million deal. Arenado would be a star fielder and would give the Yankees another middle-of-the-order bat.

Helsley, meanwhile, would be a late-inning reliever for the Yankees and further bolster the bullpen. He’s a UFA at the end of the season. To begin the season, he’s 1-for-2 on saves with a 3.60 ERA in 5 games. Mikolas, meanwhile, would add much-needed starting pitching depth to the Yankees, who have been plagued by injuries. He would be a good fourth or fifth starter.

In return, the Yankees would trade Cunningham, who’s their fifth-ranked prospect. The right-hander was drafted in the second round of the 2024 MLB draft.

Arias, meanwhile, is their seventh-ranked prospect and is a middle infielder. He projects to reach the majors in 2027 and would add some much-needed depth to the Cardinals system.

The final player dealt to St. Louis is Schittler, who’s the Yankees’ 11th-ranked prospect. The right-handed pitcher is in AA.

Analyst Explains Yankees-Cardinals Blockbuster

The proposed deal by Pressnell would be a blockbuster and one that does make sense for both teams.

St. Louis has hinted at trying to rebuild while the Yankees are all-in on winning with this core. He also believes New York could simply release Mikolas, depending on their pitching depth at the time.

“This trade is a bit more complicated. If the Yankees can convince St. Louis Cardinals infielder Nolan Arenado to clear a trade to the Bronx, he would be the ideal third base solution. Adding Ryan Helsley to the trade would be huge for New York. The Yankees have seen some early-season struggles from offseason addition Devin Williams,” Pressnell wrote.

“Helsley would be the main reason this trade is so expensive for New York, but the Yankees would also land Miles Mikolas as a salary dump for St. Louis. The Yankees would release Mikolas in this scenario, with the $25 million being used to help pay for Mikolas’ and Arenado’s contracts,” Pressnell added.

Adding Arenado and Helsley to the Yankees’ roster would only make New York that much more of a World Series contender.

Yankees GM Happy With Team’s Start

New York entered the season as one of the favorites in the AL to make the World Series.

To begin the season, the Yankees are 7-5 and atop the AL East, which has general manager Brian Cashman pleased.

“Honestly, we are finding our way. We have a lot of talent, and we’ll see how it measures up with the season underway,” Cashman said to MLB.com. “We have some injuries we have to overcome like everybody else. We’re starting to see the emergence of some of our young core players like Ben Rice, Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe, and Jasson Domínguez.

“Clarke Schmidt is coming back from injury. Will Warren has taken a turn in the rotation. These young guys are being asked to contribute significantly and allow us to excel. They are doing a great job, so far, getting out of the gate and I’m looking forward to seeing where this takes us,” Cashman added.

The Yankees have the second-best odds of winning the World Series at +900.

Cole Shelton Cole Shelton covers the NHL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more. More about Cole Shelton