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The St. Louis Cardinals have traded All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado, along with minor league pitcher Victor Santos, to the New York Yankees in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Ian Hamilton and 19-year-old outfielder Brando Mayea.
Looking to find a way to get time on the field for its young player, the Cardinals decided to move on from the 33-year-old Arenado, who has shown signs of decline over the past two seasons.
After finishing third in the MVP voting in 2023, when he hit .293 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs, the eight-time All-Star has seen his numbers dip to .266 with 26 homers and 93 RBIs in 2023 and .272 with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs a year ago.
Arenado's departure also allows every-day playing time for Nolan Gorman and Brendan Donovan, who both can play second and third.
Hamilton, 29, will slot into the St. Louis-bullpen following a season where he got into 35 games for the Yankees going 0-1 with one save and a 3.82 ERA.
For his career, which includes two seasons with the White Sox, one with the Twins and two in New York, Hamilton has pitched in 89
games going 4-5 with three saves and a 3.34 ERA.
Mayea was signed as an international free agent by the Yankees in January of 2023.
He has played in 73 games between a pair of rookie league team over the past two seasons.
In that span, he has hit .279 with three home runs 27 RBIs and a .741 OPS.
Santos, 24, spent the 2024 season at AAA Memphis after being acquired in a December 2023 trade with Boston.
With the Redbirds, he pitched in 33 games, eight starts, going 6-7 with one save and a 5.61 ERA.