DONE DEAL: According to ESPN, Houston Astros agreed to a blockbuster trade for St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado

MLB rumors: Latest on Nolan Arenado trade talks between Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado popped up in MLB rumors this winter with the club eyeing a retool in 2025 and the veteran All-Star wanting to play for a contender. Weeks later, the Cardinals and Houston Astros agreed to a blockbuster trade that Arenado blocked. With spring training underway, those talks are being revisited.

Arenado, who turns 34 in April, wanted to play for the Boston Red Sox or Los Angeles Dodgers. However, the Red Sox filled their void in the lineup by signing All-Star infielder Alex Bregman while the Dodgers spent their money on Blake Snell, Teoscar Hernandez, Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott, Michael Conforto and Hyeseong Kim.

It dwindled the number of teams Arenado was willing to play for considerably. The eight-time All-Star selection also reportedly prevented deals with several other unidentified teams. Arenado’s trade list of teams he would approve a trade to also includes the San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Despite being rebuffed once before, Houston recently re-engaged in trade negotiations with St. Louis on a deal for the Gold Glove Award-winning third baseman. If acquired, he would allow the club to make Jose Altuve’s move to left field a full-time move.

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However, according to Chandler Rome and Katie Woo of The Athletic, negotiations between the Cardinals and Astros went nowhere. That’s because Arenado is adamant about not playing for Houston.

Nolan Arenado contract (Spotrac): $21 million salary in 2025, $16 million salary in 2026, $15 million salary in 2027

With the Padres unwilling to add payroll and the Mets focused on internal options, Arenado doesn’t really have any other options. There were some MLB rumors at the start of the winter that the Phillies might pursue an upgrade at third base, but the club is now sticking with Alec Bohm.

Unless Arenado is willing to widen the number of teams he would approve a trade to, he’ll likely be stuck in St. Louis on a team that isn’t expected to be competitive in 2025. Furthermore, if his production continues to decline, the number of teams even interested in trading for him will also likely drop.

Career second baseman Jose Altuve will make his spring training debut on Friday, and he’ll do it in left field, Houston Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters on Wednesday.

Following the trade of All-Star Kyle Tucker, the Astros have an opening in the outfield. And Altuve has said he will play anywhere on the field that he’s needed.

Nolan Arenado on time with Rockies and Cardinals

Altuve, who turns 35 in May, has played 1,766 games at second base and two at shortstop, never manning the outfield during his 14 seasons. A nine-time All-Star and former American League Most Valuable Player, he won the Gold Glove at second in 2015.

His defensive stats at second base have slipped in recent seasons, however. In the past three seasons, he has registered a minus-15 defensive runs saved and two campaigns of minus-13.

The seven-time Silver Slugger hasn’t dropped off offensively, though. Altuve, a three-time American League batting champion, has averages of .300, .311 and .295 during that span.

Espada told reporters on Tuesday that Altuve is doing well in his transition to left field.