ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado recently used his no-trade clause to block a trade that could have sent him to the Houston Astros, according to several media reports.
The Cardinals have engaged in various trade talks about Arenado this offseason as the team looks to shed salary and pivot toward a youth-driven reset focused on player development, highlighted by Chaim Bloom taking over as lead executive after the 2025 season.
Completing any trade requires Arenado to formally waive a no-trade clause, a provision in the long-term deal the Cardinals inherited from the Colorado Rockies when he joined St. Louis via trade in January 2021.
Previous reports in the offseason from MLB.com’s John Denton indicated that Arenado has a wish list of six teams: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres.
The Athletic’s Katie Woo reports that Arenado was not ready to accept a trade at this stage in the offseason, but there still remains a possibility the Cardinals could complete a trade before spring training.
Arenado is owed $51 million over the next three seasons on his current contract. If the Cardinals can complete a trade soon, the biggest challenges (aside from Arenado waiving his no-trade clause) are figuring out how much the team he theoretically joins would pay to cover the rest of his deal and how many assets St. Louis could get in return.