The Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals had been in talks about Cards third baseman Nolan Arenado, though such a deal appears to be much more unlikely at this point due to Arenado refusing to waive his no-trade clause to go to Houston. According to Katie Woo and Chandler Rome, there was a deal in place before Arenado killed it.
Arenado, who turns 34 early in the 2025 season, is under contract through 2027 at $74 million, though $10 million of that is being paid by the Colorado Rockies as part of the deal they made when they traded Arenado to St. Louis. Reports indicate that the Cards were going to have to subsidize the deal further to make a trade happen.
Arenado, for much of his career, was a perennial MVP candidate, having put up six seasons with at least 5.9 bWAR and six top-8 MVP finishes. He has had a pedestrian past two seasons, however, with both his offense and his defense down from the elite levels each had been at in the past. Arenado had a 2.4 bWAR in 2023 and 2.5 bWAR in 2024.
