Nolan Arenado suitor reportedly resuming trade discussions with the Cardinals…
The St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly back in talks with the Houston Astros about a potential Nolan Arenado trade.
Nolan Arenado’s offseason saga with the St. Louis Cardinals has undergone more peaks and valleys and sharp turns than the Screamin’ Eagle at Six Flags, and the ride may not be over yet.
The Houston Astros have reportedly brought back the possibility of trading for Arenado during Spring Training.
The Cardinals and the Astros had a deal in place for Arenado in December, where the Cardinals would take on $15 million-$20 million of his salary, but Arenado exercised his no-trade clause to turn down the deal to Houston despite the team being one of the five that Arenado was originally willing to be sent to. Reports stated that Arenado wanted to see how the market would shake out with Alex Bregman, who signed with another potential Arenado suitor, the Boston Red Sox. Arenado was also leery of a trade after the Astros had just traded Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs, worrying that the Astros would not be a serious playoff contender.
With the Astros’ recent acquisition of Christian Walker to play first base, it’s clear that Houston is still a genuine competitor for the postseason, and their revival of talks to bring Arenado in reinforce that sentiment. For the Cardinals, Arenado’s absence would relieve some salary and provide more opportunities for young players such as Alec Burleson, Nolan Gorman and Thomas Saggese, who the Cardinals hope will be a part of their core in the future.
Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak expressed apprehension of trading Arenado, which has been an issue with the front office since the ill-fated Randy Arozarena deal. Now, the Cardinals have tended to hold on to players for too long and seen their value degrade. Dylan Carlson is one recent example of this. According to Mozeliak, a bounce-back season from Arenado is “what scares him the most.”
Arenado may not have the power or defensive chops that he held in his prime years, but Houston would still be getting a strong player who can help on both sides of the ball. It’s worth wondering if Arenado realizes that he might not be able to pilot a team to a championship at this point in his career; otherwise, he likely would have accepted the trade to Houston in the first place, believing that he could fill in for the vacancies that Tucker and Bregman have left behind instead of needing to rely on other players to carry more of the load.
John Denton of MLB.com said he expected Arenado to be traded by Opening Day, and if the rumors about the Astros’ renewed interest are true, Cardinals fans might be bidding farewell to Arenado before he can make the trip north to St. Louis.
