This story was excerpted from John Denton¡¯s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

While it looked for a time that Nolan Arenado could be headed to the Yankees with Paul Goldschmidt, or instead to a Dodgers franchise he rooted for as a kid while growing up in Southern California, a new team has seemingly emerged as a favorite to land the 10-time Gold Glove winner.

The Red Sox have emerged as a strong candidate to land Arenado via a trade from the Cardinals, a source told MLB.com in recent days. Boston could be close to pulling out of the sweepstakes for free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman, who could potentially command a deal worth $200 million, per the source.

Arenado, who is owed $74 million over the next three years, could soon be headed to Fenway Park, a right-handed hitter¡¯s paradise and a place that could revitalize his power slump. The 33-year-old Arenado, who has a full no-trade clause in his contract and flexed it in December to block a potential deal to the Astros, has informed the Cardinals of his willingness to agree to a potential trade to the Red Sox, a source said.

Red Sox shortstop/second baseman Trevor Story, who played with Arenado in Colorado from 2016-20, has been selling his friend on the merits of playing for Boston in recent weeks. However, a Cards-Red Sox swap could be contingent on St. Louis swallowing a sizable chunk of the money still owed to the third baseman and Boston also dealing first baseman Triston Casas for value.

Such a move could aid the Cardinals in clearing their salary commitments and giving more playing time to Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan and No. 4 prospect Thomas Saggese in 2025.