Nolan Arenado Trade Rumors: Astros Showing 'Renewed' Interest in Cardinals Star

The Houston Astros have reportedly circled back to the idea of trying to acquire veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado from the St. Louis Cardinals.

According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, Brian McTaggart and John Denton, the Astros have "renewed their interest" in Arenado, and there is some thought that Arenado may be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to Houston.

The Athletic's Chandler Rome and Katie Woo later reported talks between the Astros and Cardinals are not "gaining traction" and Arenado has not changed his stance about waiving his no-trade clause to facilitate a deal.

The Astros reportedly attempted to trade for Arenado in December, but the eight-time All-Star was reluctant to waive his no-trade clause due to uncertainty regarding the organization's direction.

Houston had just traded star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs at the time, and that reportedly played into Arenado's unwillingness to join the Astros.

However, the Astros subsequently signed first baseman Christian Walker in free agency, signaling that they still intend to be contenders in the wide-open American League.

After an initial attempt to acquire Arenado went awry, there was some speculation regarding the Astros potentially re-signing third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency, but he agreed to a deal with the Boston Red Sox last week, which could pave the way for Arenado's arrival.

Arenado is among the greatest defensive third basemen in MLB history with 10 Gold Glove Awards and six Platinum Glove Awards to his credit.

Should the Astros acquire him, they would likely slot Arenado in at third, move Isaac Paredes from third to second and follow through on the plan to move longtime starting second baseman and potential future Hall of Famer Jose Altuve to left field.

Arenado would provide the Astros with a significant boost defensively, but it is less certain if he would be much of an upgrade offensively.

Over 12 MLB seasons with the Colorado Rockies and Cardinals, Arenado has slashed .285/.342/.515 with 341 home runs and 1,132 RBI.

He is also a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner, but Arenado's offense has clearly been on the decline over the past couple of years.

After finishing third in the National League MVP voting in 2022 by virtue of hitting .293 with 30 homers and 103 RBI, Arenado's production dipped in 2023 to .266 with 26 home runs and 93 RBI.

Arenado's batting average improved slightly last season to .272, but his 16 home runs were his fewest in a full season since his rookie year in 2013 and his 71 RBI were his least in a full season since 2014.

While Arenado isn't far removed from leading the NL with a 7.7 WAR in 2022, he had a WAR of just 2.4 in 2023 and 2.5 last season, which were his lowest marks since 2013 aside from the 2020 campaign when he played in just 48 games.

Per Feinsand, McTaggart and Denton, the Cardinals offered to send the Astros between $15 million and $20 million as part of a trade back in December. When taking that into account, along with money owed by the Rockies and deferred money, the Astros only would have been on the hook for between $40 million and $45 million over the final three years of Arenado's contract.

It is unclear if the Cardinals' willingness to absorb that amount of money has changed, but it is reportedly expected that Arenado will be traded before Opening Day regardless.

The New York Yankees reportedly expressed some interest in Arenado at one point, but as of now, they are not believed to be in the mix for him any longer, likely leaving the Cardinals with limited options.

The Astros have reached the playoffs in eight straight seasons, winning two World Series during that time, which suggests they could give Arenado a chance to win a championship for the first time in his illustrious career.