[rink23]

Sometimes it becomes time to cut ties with your one time stars, and this was the time for the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Cardinals have traded third baseman Nolan Arenado and veteran outfielder Luis Gonzalez to the Minnesota Twins for a pair of infield prospects.
Once the best third baseman in the game, and a probable future Hall of Famer, the 34-year-old Arenado had seen his performance decline substantially over the past two seasons.
In 2024, Arenado hit .248 with 16 homers and 77 RBIs.
This season, through 79 games, he is hitting .219 with five homer and 21 RBIs.
He also had lost his job as starting third baseman to Nolan Gorman and his lack of production at the plate made it hard to use him as the designated hitter.
Arneado's 32-million dollar a year contract also was a key factor in the deal.
Gonzalez, 29, had been in an offseason trade with the Colorado Rockies to be a fourth outfielder for St. Louis.
He had performed well below expectations, hitting just .151 with one homer and five RBIs in 41 games/24 starts.
In exchange for Arenado and Gonzalez, St. Louis acquired 24-year-old left fielder Tito Flores and 24-year-old second baseman Ben Nippolt.
Flores has spent most of the season at AA Wichita where he has hit .279 with 13 homers and 57 RBIs in 89 games/86 starts.
Nippolt has spent the entire season at AA Wichita, hitting .314 with 10 homers and 50 RBIs in 88 games/79 starts.