Nolan Arenado just dropped a Dodgers-sized trade hint in latest cryptic Instagram

The Dodgers have been making eyes at Nolan Arenado for years now. Their interest in him dates back to his time with the Rockies, and has cropped up during a few trade deadline periods since he was traded to the Cardinals. He signed an eight-year contract extension with Colorado in 2018 that rolled over to St. Louis, so the Dodgers have never been able to take a clear, uninhibited shot for him in free agency. Still, trade rumors persist.

Last month, Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Cardinals would "gauge trade interest" for Arenado as they look to cut payroll. They already declined club options for Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, and may also shop Sonny Gray, who represents the largest monetary obligation for St. Louis in 2025 ($4 million more than Arenado, whose salary will decrease over the last two years of his extension).

Getting Arenado to LA has always felt like a little bit of a pipe dream, but he dropped a bomb on Instagram on Sunday that immediately got Dodgers fans buzzing.

It was an innocuous enough post, just a carousel of various offseason snaps, but he also conspicuously chose to attach a song to the post: Kendrick Lamar's "dodger blue."

Nolan Arenado gets Dodgers fans hopes up with new Instagram post

Arenado's performance since 2020 has been spotty, but his best season to date isn't that far behind him. In 2022, he accumulated a National League-best 7.7 bWAR and batted .291 with a .891 OPS over 148 games. He earned an All-Star nod, a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger, and placed third in MVP voting. By contrast, 2024 was one of his worst to date; he earned none of those accolades and missed out on a Gold Glove for a second consecutive season when he'd earned 10 consecutively for the first 10 years of his career.

But the Cardinals were a pretty middling team all-around this year, and who knows what he could go back to being capable of if he's with a better squad?

The question would be where the Dodgers would put him. Third base is covered by Max Muncy through 2025 (the Dodgers have a club option for 2026), and first base, where Arenado has said he would be willing to move, is covered by Freddie Freeman through 2027. Freeman's not going anywhere, and Muncy is still a far too powerful hitter to be relegated to the bench, so the clearest path forward would be to trade Muncy to accommodate Arenado at third. Despite the absence of awards recognition over the past two seasons, Arenado is still the far superior defensive third baseman.

There's always the possibility that Arenado just really likes that song, but it also feels a little too specific to not read into it, at least a little bit. If it holds any water at all, the Dodgers could finally be getting a guy they've wanted for a long time.