Nolan Arenado trade rejection was more of a Cardinals betrayal than we thought

The St. Louis Cardinals were at the goal line, hoping to trade Nolan Arenado (and the vast majority of his contract) to the Houston Astros. The only problem, of course, is that Arenado has a no-trade clause.

Arenado is on the record as wanting to play for a winner. The Astros have made the postseason for seven straight seasons, winning two World Series in the process. What's the problem?

While it's unclear exactly why Arenado turned down the trade – the reasoning provided so far is that he was still evaluating his options and wanted to wait – the result is the same. John Mozeliak and Co. must go back to the drawing board.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on. The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

John Mozeliak and the St. Louis Cardinals can't be happy with Nolan Arenado

The details of said trade are a little murky, but were favorable for the Cardinals, as reported by Katie Woo of The Athletic.

"From the Cardinals’ side, the trade with Houston would have been ideal, especially from a financial standpoint. The Astros would have footed the majority of Arenado’s salary, which also includes $22 million combined of deferred money and remaining salary owed by the Colorado Rockies. That brings Arenado’s present-day value to just over $60 million," Woo wrote.

The best-case scenario for the Cardinals is getting Arenado's contract off the books while taking a marginal hit, and then using some of the capital saved to improve the existing roster. Let's not get it twisted, St. Louis is not a playoff team with or without the eight-time All-Star.

The Astros were desperate enough to find a long-term replacement for Alex Bregman, who remains a free agent. Despite Arenado coming off two straight subpar years defensively (and, again, his contract), Houston was excited at the prospect of adding what amounts to a definitive downgrade. Sure, the Astros wouldn't have to send top prospect capital back to St. Louis, but the money aspect of this trade is confusing.

In many ways, the Astros dodged a bullet, and they have Arenado to thank. Mozeliak cannot be happy about that.

A trade could still occur, as Woo notes, but Arenado needs some time to think on the matter. Mozeliak is catering to a 34-year-old former star who no longer wants to be a Cardinal.