MLB Insider reports new trade destination has emerged for Cardinals' Nolan Arenado

It appears the Houston Astros may not be done making significant trades with the National League Central.

Just a day after trading away superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs, the Astros have reportedly emerged as a serious suitor for St. Louis Cardinals' third baseman Nolan Arenado, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

At this past week's Winter Meetings, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak confirmed to reporters that he intends to trade Arenado, with both sides believing it is in their best interest to part ways. Joel Wolfe, Arenado's agent, confirmed this to reporters as well and had been given permission by the Cardinals to go out and seek suitors for his services.

John Denton of MLB.com recently reported that Arenado had a "wish list" that included the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Los Angeles Angels. Wolfe did tell reporters that Arenado's list is bigger than people would think, which makes Houston seem like an even more plausible destination.

The Astros just acquired third baseman Isaac Parades in the Tucker trade, but Parades has positional flexibility to play other positions on the diamond. Arenado has also expressed interest in playing other positions if needed, but I would imagine he would stick at third over Parades.

This also would essentially confirm the Astros are not bringing back their free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman, whose market is widely believed to be impacting potential suitors for Arenado.

Houston makes a lot of sense for Arenado, and when the idea of him being traded this offseason first came up, they were a team that may quickly speculated could be interested. While the Astros are clearly reshaping their roster in a significant way, they are not heading toward some multi-year retool like the Cardinals or undergoing another significant rebuild like they did in the 2010s.

Instead, they'd like to figure out how to contend again in the near future, and it appears that strategy will come together through a mix of their old core, acquiring new veterans for their roster, and banking on the development of young talent. That won't be an easy task, but Houston has been one of the best in baseball at doing that for a while now, so it is hard to bet against them.

Arenado would join a lineup featuring Parades, Yordan Alvarez, and Jose Altuve, and it's widely known that the Crawford Boxes in left field at Minute Maid Park are an advantage for pull-heavy right-handed hitters like Arenado. He's only played 13 career games in Houston, but he does have a career .815 OPS there, including three home runs leading to a .500 SLG.

Arenado wants to contend with his next club, and while the future is not as bright in Houston as it has been in years past, there are few organizations in recent baseball history that contend at the level they do, appearing in four World Series since 2017 and winning two. Last season broke a streak of seven consecutive seasons where the Astros had made the American League Championship Series.

From the Cardinals' end, any return they hope to muster will depend on how much money they are willing to eat on Arenado's deal. With the Rockies kicking in $5 million in 2025 and 2026, Arenado's contract can quickly become a bargain if the Cardinals kick in a significant amount of money as well.