5 burning questions the St. Louis Cardinals are nowhere close to answering

4. What will it take to revisit Nolan Arenado trade talks?

All of the baseball world is aware of the Nolan Arenado trade saga that took place since the start of the offseason and John Mozeliak's announcement that trading the superstar was priority one, two, and three for the Cardinals. Well, a week into the season and Arenado is still the team's third baseman and has been performing well, including hitting a huge homer during the opening homestand and showing off his Gold Glove-caliber defense.

After a failed trade to the Astros, Arenado stated that he would not increase his trade list from the current five teams (Dodgers, Angels, Yankees, Astros, and Red Sox) and Mozeliak said that the organization did not plan to reach out to any of these suitors unless there was a real opportunity for a deal. So what would a real opportunity for a trade look like?

Including this year, Arenado has three years left on his current contract, so an acquiring team would have to have a long-term opening at third base as well as the financial capacity to take on his remaining deal. Arenado did float the idea that he would be open to playing first base in the future, but his defense provides so much value at third that the move across the diamond may not be an actual offer just yet.

The Cardinals could open up trade discussions again if Arenado asks them to check in or if Nolan Gorman is able to prove his value when he returns from the injured list. Gorman taking off would make for a great discussion about the team's infield configuration of the future. If the lefty can come back and go on an extended hot stretch, it is possible the organization makes some calls to the teams that are on Arenado's list if they have a need.

Outside of either of those two scenarios, Arenado is most likely stuck in St. Louis unless the Cardinals are approached with a massive offer to take him off their hands. It would take a long-term injury to any of those teams' current third basemen, and they would also need to be lacking an option that is already in their organization.