Cardinals Insider Reveals Why Nolan Arenado Shut Down Astros Deal

The Cardinals had an eventful offseason...

Aug 21, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) reacts after hitting a walk-off grand slam against the Milwaukee Brewers during the tenth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals spent all offseason trying to trade star third baseman Nolan Arenado.

They really did make a great effort to do so, but things just didn't work out. Arenado gave the Cardinals a list of five teams he would waive his no-trade clause for and a few other teams also reached out.

One team that was on his list was the Houston Astros. While this is the case, he ended up using his no-trade clause to shut down the deal. Why is that the case? The Athletic's Katie Woo shared Arenado wanted more time to see how his market would shake out.

"Both the Cardinals and the Astros felt the trade would satisfy some of their most pressing needs, and both were pushing to complete it as soon as possible," Woo said. "All that remained was Arenado agreeing to it, something Mozeliak did not envision being an issue. That’s when Arenado began having second thoughts about whether the Astros were a fit.

"(John Mozeliak) gave him the weekend to decide. By Monday, Arenado was still not sold. He did not want to rule out the Astros for good — something he communicated to both St. Louis and Houston — but he wanted more time to see how his market would play out and just how much Bregman’s free agency was impacting it. He also did not want his family (Arenado has a 2-year-old daughter, Levi, with his wife, Laura) to have to adjust to another organization unless he was entirely sure of his decision."

Things didn't work out with the deal and now the two sides are together for at least the near future.

More MLB: Cardinals Insider Reveals 5 Teams Nolan Arenado Would Approve Trade