John Mozeliak's admitted desperation could lead Cardinals back to Yankees on Nolan Arenado trade

As the Yankees continue to seek an infield solution and a Marcus Stroman trade at the exact same time, both an Alex Bregman signing and Nolan Arenado trade are entering their second month of being ruled out by Jack Curry.

As February nears, though, there's at least a minute chance of Bregman becoming viable; if the Yankees are willing to lose draft picks and the third baseman begins to consider short-term offers, as has been rumored, then there may yet be a marriage. The odds are still small, though you can see them.

The odds of an Arenado trade? Those have increased at least double, compared to a fantasy Bregman pursuit. Why? Because if there's one thing Brian Cashman loves more than trying to uncover bullpen diamonds in the rough, it's taking advantage of the desperation of others.

And, based on John Mozeliak's comments at the Cardinals' Winter Warm-Up over the weekend, St. Louis will be attacking the final weeks before spring training with renewed vigor as their attempts to rid themselves of Arenado's three years increase. Does that mean they'd be open to reconsidering their stance that Stroman is a terrible idea in exchange, as the rumors indicated early in the process?

Yankees can take advantage of Cardinals' desperation on Nolan Arenado

A few weeks back, Cardinals insider Katie Woo noted that, amid the stalled Arenado market, the Red Sox represented the "best chance" for the third baseman to be dealt before Opening Day. While the Red Sox camp seems split internally on Alex Bregman, signing him and keeping Rafael Devers at third base (they promised him!) seems to be their preferred infield move, if they make a move at all.

If the Cardinals are beginning to sweat this one, it could be time for the Yankees to revisit the conversation. Three years and $74 million of Arenado's contract is a hefty sum to pay for league-average offense and elite defense, but it still feels like a vast improvement over what the Yankees are planning to roll with, and all our preferred improvements have come off the board (or been tacitly ignored). This is the Cardinals' Plan A, B and C, huh? How much of that contract would they be willing to eat to turn their plan into a reality? It wouldn't happen to equate to Stroman's exact contract figure for the next two years (if his player option vests), would it?

The Yankees have plenty of pitching to fulfill Mozeliak's stated desire for bullpen help, too, from multi-inning possibilities (Yoendrys Gomez) to developing back-end options (Clayton Beeter, Thatcher Hurd, Gage Ziehl). This particular fit was ruled out a month ago, but with Paul Goldschmidt already in place and the clock ticking loudly, it's starting to feel reasonable again.

Only issue? Nobody has more spare pitching than the Dodgers, who just landed Roki Sasaki, and that's been thought to be Arenado's preference all along. If LA decides to roll the dice, there's nothing much the Yankees can do with Mozeliak's flop sweat.