Nolan Arenado rejects trade to contender as Cardinals scramble to find a suitor

The Nolan Arenado trade saga continues to get wackier and wackier as the days go buy.

News just broke today that Arenado has informed the St. Louis Cardinals front office that he will not waive his no-trade clause to go to the Houston Astros as the two sides have been in discussions over a potential deal.

Earlier this week, the Astros' interest in Arenado became public after the club traded away star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs. Houston is expected to lose Alex Bregman in free agency, so acquiring Arenado would make a ton of sense as they retool their roster.

As of now though, it appears that Areando will not approve of a deal to the American League West powerhouse, although talks between the two sides are continuing. Reports indicate that the Astros are pessimistic that a deal can actually get done now though.

It's not crazy to see why Arenado would not want to go to Houston. The Cardinals' third baseman is in control of his own destiny here, and there are reasons to believe that Houston may be heading on a downward trajectory, much like the Cardinals did after Arenado landed in St. Louis.

I do have greater faith in the Astros to turn things around than what happened with St. Louis, but Arenado likely does not want to risk signing up for another contender that is heading in the wrong direction. Although his list of preferred trade destinations had a club like the Angels on it, the rest of those teams, the Dodgers, Padres, Phillies, Mets, and Red Sox, all appear to be on the ascent as contenders.

Katie Woo of The Athletic reported the Astros were serious contenders for Arenado earlier today, so it does appear that Arenado has since stepped in and squashed those talks. But now that he has done this, it does seem to line up with her thoughts that Arenado's market may take a few more weeks to develop, handcuffing the Cardinals even further as they await a final decision on Arenado and the $74 million still owed to him the next three seasons.

Reports are also indicating that the Cardinals are likely looking to move as much of his contract as possible, meaning fans should not expect much in return for the third baseman. This would be a frustrating decision from the organization, should they choose to go in that direction, as eating more money on his deal could net them a better return. If they were trying to move his money in order to reinvest that into the big league club, that would be more understandable. But instead, it looks like they'd rather cut even more payroll as they navigate losses in revenue.

There is still an outside chance that Arenado remains with the Cardinals going into the 2025 season, especially if he remains picky regarding where he could end up. The Cardinals would like to clear his salary and create opportunities for their young bats, but Arenado holds all of the cards right now.