Cody Bellinger is a pretty important signing for the New York Yankees. He will start in center field and provide momentum to a Yankees lineup that needs plenty of it after Juan Soto’s departure.

So why was Bellinger dealt for a 30-year-old pitcher who has played 24 MLB games in his life?

In part because it appears that the market for aging former superstars isn’t particularly hot right now, no matter how productive those players can still be. This is not a good sign for the St. Louis Cardinals and Nolan Arenado.

As the franchise searches for a trade partner for Arenado, the return — or lack thereof — that Chicago received for Bellinger could be a sign of things to come for the Cardinals.

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While an Arenado transfer still seems likely based on reports out of St. Louis, Cardinals fans shouldn’t get too excited about the potential return.

Arenado will see big changes over the next three seasons, and while he’s still capable of playing good third base every day, his production has slowed a bit (a combined 4.9 WAR over the last two seasons) .

Even though Arenado is 33 years old, he will perform for whatever team he lands on, but that doesn’t mean he deserves a top prospect in return. St. Louis currently has three players ranked in the MLB’s top 100 – JJ Wetherhold, Tink Daher and Quinn Matthews – and if the team could land a top 100 player from another team for Arenado, it would be a huge victory.

But if we want to be realistic, Cardinals fans should look forward to weaker prospects and possibly a younger MLB player when an Arenado deal inevitably comes to fruition.