The St. Louis Cardinals have spent the majority of their offseason trying to find a way to unload superstar Nolan Arenado’s salary. Arenado is under contract through the 2027 season and is owed a large amount of money that the Cardinals would prefer not to pay in the midst of a rebuild.
Arenado himself has made it clear that if the Cardinals are more worried about the future than the present, then he would rather play elsewhere. Although Arenado does want to be traded, he is being very selective about his future destination and exercising his no-trade clause.
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Nolan Arenado refuses to mention Houston Astros by name
Perhaps the second biggest free agent signing this offseason (first being Juan Soto to the Mets) was Alex Bregman inking a deal with the Boston Red Sox. Even though this happened within the last week, it was apparent to the Astros that Bregman was not returning to Houston when the offseason started.
In an attempt to fill the vacancy Bregman left, the Astros turned to the St. Louis Cardinals, hoping to acquire Arenado. These talks shut down once Arenado blocked a trade that would send him to Houston. Some speculation claims that Arenado only denied this trade because it was too early in the offseason to make a big decision. His recent comments would suggest otherwise. ESPN shared some thoughts from Arenado himself regarding this offseason.
“I’m not going to talk about who the teams were because it doesn’t really matter anymore. I got a family now and to be willing to pick up my family and move them, it has to be something that is worth it.” Arenado said.
Reading between the lines makes it easy to decipher that Arenado has moved on from the thought of joining the Houston Astros. After experiencing a lack of postseason success throughout his career with the Rockies and Cardinals, Arenado is seeking a clubhouse where a World Series title feels within reach.
Despite Houston’s recent success, Arenado doesn’t view the Astros as an option, so much so he won’t even mention their name.