New details regarding Cardinals' attempt to trade Nolan Arenado complicate the saga

Outgoing decision-maker John Mozeliak stated that trading Nolan Arenado was the St. Louis Cardinals ultimate priority and even had a deal in place to send the All-Star third baseman to Houston, one of the team's on Arenado's list of preferred destinations. Because of the built-in no-trade clause in his contract, Arenado had the ability to block the deal. Now, the future Hall of Famer appears set to stay in St. Louis for the foreseeable future.

Why would Nolan Arenado block a trade to a potential contender?

Cardinals reporter Katie Woo wrote an expansive, subscription-required piece on The Athletic detailing the tumultuous offseason for the team and their star player. The week after the Winter Meetings, it appeared the Cardinals were ready to make a deal with one of the preferred teams on Arenado's trade list. A source said that the deal was on the "one-yard line" before falling through. How did this happen?

Well, Arenado made it clear he wanted to play for a consistent contender, something the Cardinals were unable to do during the past two seasons. The Astros made sense on the surface after going to the World Series in four of the past seven seasons, including two championships. However, the Astros were in an interesting situation themselves as they had just traded superstar outfielder to the division rival Cubs and seemed likely to lose cornerstone Alex Bregman to a mega-deal in free agency. It was at that point that Arenado paused in his willingness to head to Houston.

After Arenado nixed the move, the Cardinals reached out to nine additional organizations with three of them being non-starters. The Boston Red Sox, seen as the favorites to land the third baseman in a deal, were no longer a viable fit after signing Bregman to a lengthy deal and incumbent third baseman Rafael Devers unwillingness to move out of the hot corner despite his brutal defense. At that point, it was clear the Cardinals were out of options.

After thoughts about how strange it would be for the 33-year-old to show up to Jupiter after hearing how the team no longer wished to have his services, Arenado arrived to Spring Training with no hard feelings or ill-will towards any staff or players. Even with his understanding of the situation and a lack of clarity around his blocked trade, media members questioned how the offseason played out before culminating in his decision to stay in St. Louis.

During media availability at the start of camp, the framework of the canceled Houston deal started to take shape. The Cardinals were willing to eat $15 million of the high-priced third baseman's remaining salary and with both teams' officials agreeing on the main ideas of the deal, all that was left was Arenado signing off and packing his bags. Mozeliak allowed Arenado to take the weekend to think it through and discuss it with his family, which is when the questions began. Bregman had not yet signed his deal with Boston at that time so there was a lack of clarity in the market to see if Houston was truly the only option. With that and the lack of a clear direction for the Astros, Arenado was not 100% sold that the deal was best for him or his family, who he cited as a main talking point as well. He mentioned that he did not want his family to have to move without being sure that the new organization would be the best fit.

Even with the hesitancy from Arenado, Houston still believed the trade would go through... until official word the third baseman declined the deal, taking both teams off-guard. While he wanted to remain in contact with the Astros, Arenado stated he needed more time to see how the free agent market played out as other teams filled their rosters, understanding that Houston could also pivot to other options. Mozeliak was shocked and seemingly frustrated as neither side reached out for the next couple of weeks but he did stay in contact with Arenado's agent. Bregman was still unsigned but was seen as a fit for Boston, one of the only other options for Arenado. As pitchers and catchers reported to camp, the Red Sox finally struck a deal for their need but it was in the form of a six-year deal for Bregman's services, taking the final suitor out of the Arenado sweepstakes.

With camp underway, Arenado has said he will not expand his initial five-team list and at this point, is expecting to be with the Cardinals at the start of the season. Early reports from camp are good as he has continued his flashy defense at the hot corner and has opened some eyes with some added pop to his swing.

Mozeliak has said efforts to trade Arenado are at a standstill and no longer a top priority but said if something comes up that makes sense, he will do both sides the service of checking in. However, it looks like both the player and the team are happy with the current alignment and things could be worse than having a Gold Glove, All-Star third baseman on the roster.

"At the end of the day, I'm a ball player. I'm a Cardinal until I'm told I'm not.""

Nolan Arenado