Before the 2025 Major League Baseball season started, it didn't seem likely that Nolan Arenado was going to be on the St. Louis Cardinals' roster.
He was the talk of the offseason, trade-wise. Arenado was linked to teams left and right and the Cardinals weren't shy with their interest in moving on from him. Arenado didn't request a deal, but it was clear that at the time he was open to leaving for a contender, but only in the right situation. It was reported that Arenado gave the Cardinals a list of five teams he was interested in.
Rumors flowed left and right and the Cardinals came close to dealing him once, but Arenado used his no-trade clause to shut down a deal with the Houston Astros.
Now, questions have popped up about his future once again, but don't expect Houston to get involved again, per USA Today Sports' Bob Nightengale.
"The Houston Astros would like to find a third baseman while Isaac Paredes recovers from his hamstring tear, but have no interest in reigniting talks with the St. Louis Cardinals for third baseman Nolan Arenado," Nightengale said. "They had agreed to a trade during the winter, and the Astros had permission to speak to Arenado, but they couldn’t convince him they were still going to contend this year.
"We tried to convince him that we’re not rebuilding, that the window is always open with our owner," GM Dana Brown said. “We planned to compete in 2025 and beyond. He misunderstood the plan."
Will the Cardinals move the future Hall of Famer over the next four days?
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