The St. Louis Cardinals are beginning a reconstruction. They let Paul Goldschmidt depart in free agency and tried to deal Nolan Arenado during the winter. However, no one has made an offer for Arenado, and the Boston Red Sox have already signed Alex Bregman.
According to Jayson Stark of The Athletic, two possible suitors for a Cardinals trade have withdrawn their interest due to Arenado’s no-trade clause.
“The teams that make sense — Toronto and Seattle — are clubs he’d be unlikely to approve a trade to join,” Stark told ESPN. “And the places he wants to go don’t appear to think he’s needed, especially following his poorest season ever. It’s understandable to question how uncomfortable he’ll be in St. Louis after all this. But, as one executive put it Thursday morning, the response is obviously:’more comfy than Toronto!'”
According to Stark’s reporting, neither the Blue Jays nor the Mariners made any trade offers for Arenado. However, both had poor offseasons and may have pursued trades following free-agency disappointments. Arenado declined a trade to the Astros, but the Cardinals’ acceptance of a deal is not the only impediment.
Where would Nolan Arenado wind up?
In his report, Stark quotes another rival executive. “If the market was big, he’d already have been gone, because I know the Cardinals were absolutely actively looking to deal him.” As spring training begins, the trade market is very tiny and has continued to decrease.
The Mariners re-signed Jorge Polanco in free agency, likely eliminating them from the Arenado contest. Bregman defeats the Red Sox, while Arenado defeats the Astros. However, the New York Yankees have not signed a third baseman and could complete the deal before opening day.