Cardinals' Nolan Arenado nixes trade to Astros, for now

Despite the St. Louis Cardinals’ intentions to waste and acquisition him, Nolan Arenado is not adjacent to making a determination astir his future.

The Athletic first reported Saturday that the Houston Astros had emerged arsenic legitimate suitors for Arenado. By the extremity of the weekend, the Astros had a woody successful spot to get the 3rd baseman and location was a increasing consciousness wrong the statement that it would onshore the eight-time All-Star.

Instead, according to aggregate convention sources, Arenado declined to waive his no-trade clause, preferring not to make a determination this early successful the offseason. That decision, first reported by MLB.com connected Wednesday, is not final, and the Cardinals and Astros will proceed conversations. It is unclear whether the Astros will proceed heavy pursuing Arenado aliases pivot to different options.

That Houston has — and maintains — specified aggravated liking successful Arenado is the astir glaring motion yet that dream is fading for a reunion pinch franchise cornerstone Alex Bregman.

The Astros’ pursuit of Bregman had not changed successful the aftermath of Kyle Tucker’s waste and acquisition to the Chicago Cubs, according to Astros wide head Dana Brown.

“Alex Bregman’s position is still the measurement it is,” Brown said connected Friday. “Nothing has changed since the past clip I talked to you guys. We’ve been engaged pinch a batch of different things, arsenic I recognize he’s astir apt been engaged trying to find a landing spot.”The Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, New York Mets and Detroit Tigers are among the teams pinch immoderate level of liking successful Bregman, whom the Astros reportedly offered a six-year woody of astir $156 million.

Uncertainty surrounding Bregman — coupled pinch the club’s waste and acquisition of Tucker — gave Arenado astatine slightest immoderate region astir the Astros’ semipermanent outlook, according to 1 source.

Cardinals president of shot operations John Mozeliak first approached Arenado pinch the thought of a waste and acquisition during the last week of the regular season, citing desires to little payroll and attraction connected subordinate development.

Arenado, who opted into the remainder of his statement pinch St. Louis astatine the extremity of the 2022 season, was agreeable to the concept. He presented Mozeliak pinch a short database of teams he’d beryllium consenting to waive his afloat no-trade clause for. That database primitively included the Astros.

The Cardinals are financially motivated to waste and acquisition Arenado, who is owed $74 cardinal complete the adjacent 3 seasons. According to a convention source, if Arenado approved the trade, the Cardinals were group to salary astir $5 cardinal each year. Houston would ft the remainder of the bill, amounting to astir $45 cardinal aft factoring successful deferrals.

(Photo of Nolan Arenado: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)