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Third baseman Nolan Arenado has informed the St. Louis Cardinals that he will not waive his no-trade clause to head to the Houston Astros, who have been in talks with the Redbirds about a potential deal for the eight-time All-Star.
Mark Feinsand, John Denton and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported the news.
“It’s unknown exactly why Arenado doesn’t want to go to the Astros, though given his desire to join a team that can win now, Houston’s trade of Kyle Tucker to the Cubs last week couldn’t have helped its effort to land the 10-time Gold Glove Award winner,” the MLB.com trio noted.
Katie Woo of The Athletic added more information regarding Arenado’s decision.
Katie Woo @katiejwoo
Per sources: Part of Arenado’s decision stemmed from a preference to not make a decision this early in the offseason. It is unclear whether the Astros will continue heavily pursuing Arenado or pivot to other options. <a href=” <a href=”https://t.co/HyI2i8GVDu”>https://t.co/HyI2i8GVDu</a>
Arenado, who is entering his age-34 season, hit .272 (.719 OPS) with 16 home runs and 71 RBI last year.
Feinsand, Denton and McTaggart added that there were “ongoing talks” between St. Louis and Houston. However, another source noted that “it’s definitely not close.”
At this juncture, the trade talks appear all but dead barring a change-of-heart from Arenado. It also doesn’t appear that talks are close with any other team at the moment.
“All I can say is that we were in talks with multiple teams, and we still are, but I have nothing pending,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Wednesday, per MLB.com. “We’re still working on a lot of things, and hopefully we have clarity as we get into the new year.”
There’s also a financial factor here. Simply put, Mozeliak is looking to move Arenado’s contract off the team’s payroll.
“We both remain optimistic that both parties will remain happy somehow,” Mozeliak said during Winter Meetings, which took place in Dallas last week.
“[Arenado remaining with the Cardinals] is a possibility, but I’m not sure that puts us where we want to be. From a financial standpoint of trying to move our payroll – there are certainly other ways to do that, but [trading Arenado] would be a big help. It’s financial, but it also creates a runway for someone else.”
As Feinsand, Denton and McTaggart noted, the Cardinals would have paid Houston $15 million – $20 million to help pay down the rest of Arenado’s three-year, $74 million deal, $10 million of which is being covered by the Colorado Rockies as part of their 2021 trade. A total of $12 million of the deal is deferred as well.
The Astros had Alex Bregman at third base for nine years, but all signs are pointing to him leaving town in free agency at this juncture, especially given Houston’s interest in Arenado. ESPN’s David Schoenfield has recently predicted the Boston Red Sox to land Bregman.
So it’s unclear where the Astros go from here at third base, and it’s also uncertain where Arenado will land. There’s plenty of time for both of those situations to figure themselves out though as the hot stove season continues.