The Los Angeles Dodgers (46-29) are starting to put a bit of distance between themselves and the rest of the NL West, riding a league-best five-game winning streak to jump out to a 4 1/2 game lead in the division. The defending World Series champions haven’t been running away with MLB’s best record like many expected coming into the spring, however, as they still trail the Detroit Tigers (47-27) and are behind the Chicago Cubs (45-28) by percentage points in that department.
With the MLB Trade Deadline six weeks away, Los Angeles will be looking to improve its roster in any way it can to try and become the first repeat title winner since the 2000 New York Yankees.
While the Dodgers’ trio of reigning or former MVP hitters in Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani (as well as All-Stars Teoscar Hernandez and Will Smith) have put up big numbers again in 2025, third base had been a relative weak spot, at least until recently.
With that in mind, Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer came up with “dream landing spots” for eight of “MLB’s High-Priced, Change of Scenery Stars” in the wake of the recent Rafael Devers blockbuster deal.
One of Rymer’s ideas centers around the Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado.
Nolan Arenado Still Among the Best Fielders at His Position
When Rymer chose his eight players for his post, he was just looking at ones on nine-figure contracts and admitted that it was “mostly a combination of wishful thinking and armchair GM’ing.” Arenado certainly fits the criteria, as he’s on year seven of a nine-year, $275 million deal.
The eight-time All-Star isn’t producing the type of offensive numbers that fans are used to (eight home runs, 36 RBI, .244/.306/.388 slash line across 284 plate appearances) but is still one of the best in the sport at playing the hot corner.
“Arenado is 34 years old and in the third season of a steep offensive decline. But the 10-time Gold Glover can still get it done on defense if nothing else, and he just seems the kind of guy whose bat would be energized by a new environment,” Rymer wrote.
Arenado started his career with 10 straight Gold Gloves from 2012-2022, while earning six Platinum Gloves as well. While he hasn’t won the hardware the last two seasons, he still led the senior circuit in both putouts (103) and fielding percentage (.977) for a third baseman, making just nine errors in 392 defensive chances.
Arenado ranks third in the NL in both assists (137) and fielding percentage (.984) by a third baseman in 2025 and fourth in both putouts (45) and double plays (15).
Do the Dodgers Still Need a Third Baseman?
Dodgers fans may be ready to welcome Arenado to the City of Angels but does the team really need help at the position?
In late May, Los Angeles third baseman Max Muncy was struggling mightily, registering just three home runs, 19 RBI and a meager .205/.328/.331 triple slash across his first 47 games. The two-time All-Star has been on a tear over the last few weeks though.
Muncy’s now up to nine home runs, 38 RBI and a .244/.372/.425 slash line in 70 contests.
“Max Muncy would probably beg to differ here, and so might the Dodgers. Ever since Muncy got new glasses, he’s been a different hitter with a 1.025 OPS over 30 games,” Rymer wrote. “The Dodgers nonetheless need to be thinking about upgrading their defense at the hot corner. Though their infield has broken even with zero Outs Above Average overall, third base is deep under water with -8 OAA. That is mostly on Muncy, who is at -7 just on his own.”
This year’s defensive issues aren’t new for Muncy, as he led the NL in errors by a third baseman in 2023 with 16 and has already racked up 10 miscues this season (second-most at his position).
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