St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado blocked a trade to Houston, report Mark Feinsand, John Denton and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
The reason for his refusal is not known, but according to the three insiders, it is possible that the Astros’ decision to trade Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs may have negatively colored Arenado’s opinion of their intentions to win the next season.
Arenado has a no-trade clause in his contract that is valid for three more years.
According to MLB.comthe Cards would have been willing to give Houston between $15 and $20 million to facilitate the transaction.
According to Feinsand, Denton and McTaggart, discussions continue between the two clans, but no agreement is imminent.
“All I can say is that we were in discussions with several teams, and we still are, but nothing is imminent,” said Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, via MLB.com Wednesday. “We are working on several things and we hope to have more clarity soon as the new year approaches. »
Mozeliak added that it’s still possible to see Arenado back in the desert next season, although he admitted it would be more beneficial to be able to better distribute salaries.
Arenado is coming off his worst offensive season since his rookie year in 2013. The 33-year-old posted averages of .272/.325/.394 with 16 homers and 71 RBIs in 152 games. He had hit 26 long balls and produced 93 runs with a .774 OPS in 144 games the previous season.
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