At this point, it would be a surprise if Nolan Arenado is wearing a St. Louis Cardinals uniform in 2025, but it's almost certain he won't be wearing the jersey of at least one other team.
The eight-time All-Star has three years remaining on his deal, but with the Cards in a rebuild, Arenado is perhaps their hottest commodity on the trade market.
The issue St. Louis faces, though, is that Arenado has a no-trade clause. That's not to say the Cardinals can't move him.
But Arenado would need to give the team permission to do so.
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Arenado has reportedly decided not to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Houston Astros.
Houston is in the market for a third baseman because Alex Bregman is a free agent. And while the Astros were willing to take on a good chunk of the $74 million owed to Arenado through 2027, Arenado apparently wants no part of playing in Houston. The teams reportedly agreed on a trade, but it's not known when that happened.
It's also not clear why Arenado does not want to play in Houston, but it should be noted that Arenado will turn 34 a couple weeks into the season without a World Series ring, and the Astros, after trading Kyle Tucker, seem to be taking a step backward.
Arenado's agent, Joel Wolfe, said Arenado's list of teams he'd be willing to be traded to is "bigger than you would think … but he's not going to go just anywhere."
Other teams that may be interested in Arenado's services include the New York Yankees and New York Mets. However, the former reportedly did not have much of a "fit" for him earlier this month.
The Cardinals were on the opposite end of a no-trade clause in 2017, when Giancarlo Stanton shut down a deal with St. Louis while he was a member of the Miami Marlins. Shortly thereafter, Stanton went to the Yankees.
Arenado is a 10-time Gold Glove Award winner. Combine that with a .285 average and .857 OPS in his career, and he might be on the track to Cooperstown when it's all said and done. He is 174 hits away from reaching 2,000 for his career.
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