Reasons Behind Botched Cardinals-Astros Trade For Nolan Arenado Finally Revealed

The St. Louis Cardinals' top priority over the offseason was to find a trade destination for superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado but things didn't pan out as hoped.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak was tasked with finding a trade partner willing to take on Arenado's three years and $64 million remaining contract after he logged the worst offensive season of his career in 2024.

To make matters more difficult for Mozeliak and the Cardinals' front office, Arenado had a full no-trade clause, which limited Mo's options. A potential blockbuster with the Houston Astros was nearly completed but the 10-time Gold Glove defender had the final say. After all this time, he's finally sharing why he vetoed a move to the American League West rival.

"Ahead of the Cardinals' series against the Astros this week, Arenado opened up about the trade, saying Houston's approach to the offseason made him 'uncomfortable' after the team traded Kyle Tucker," Bleacher Report's Andrew Peters wrote Tuesday. "'I think a lot of fans think I just said ‘no’ because I think they’re bad, which is obviously false and not true,' Arenado said, per The Athletic's Chandler Rome. 'For me to get my family to leave St. Louis at that point in the offseason, with how everything transpired with the trades and all that, it made me a little uncomfortable.'”

Arenado rejected the trade to Houston in mid-December shortly after the Astros sent three-time All-Star Kyle Tucker to the hated National League Central foe Chicago Cubs in exchange for third basemen Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith and right-handed pitcher Hayden Wesneski.

"Arenado said his decision to veto that Astros trade also had to do with the timing of things," Peters continued. "Houston wanted an answer quickly, but Arenado wanted to see how things played out before he OK'd the move. 'I respect the Astros because they can’t just wait for me to make my decision,' Arenado said. 'They have to move on and they have to make their team better, which they did. They got (Christian) Walker and they did some other things. I can see how it was taken as ‘no,’ but they know I didn’t say ‘no.’ It was more of, ‘I need to see how this all plays out first.’”

It's possible that the Cardinals narrowly missed trading Arenado to the Astros. Had they completed the deal several days before Tucker was traded to the Cubs, there's a chance the five-time Silver Slugger would currently be Houston's starting third baseman.

Fortunately, Arenado is having a resurgent season at the plate -- batting .292 with 19 hits, eight extra-base hits including two home runs, nine RBIs and a .855 OPS in 65 at-bats across 17 games played for the Cardinals in 2025.

Considering St. Louis is amid a transitional period, it'll be interesting to see if Mozeliak shops Arenado's contract at this summer's trade deadline.