Eight-Time All-Star Nolan Arenado Blocks Trade to Seattle Mariners Biggest Rival
Potential future Hall of Fame third baseman Nolan Arenado evidently won't be joining the Houston Astros, the biggest rival of the Seattle Mariners.
According to a report from MLB.com, Arenado blocked a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Astros.
According to sources, the Astros and Cardinals were in discussions on a potential trade involving the third baseman, but Arenado informed St. Louis that he will not waive his no-trade clause to go to Houston.
It's not known why Arenado said no to Houston, who has been to the ALCS or better in seven of the last eight seasons. The Astros just traded away slugger Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs and also appear ready to lose Alex Bregman in free agency, so perhaps Arenado was lacking belief that the Astros are ready to win.
The 33-year-old Arenado spent the first eight years of his big-league career in Colorado, becoming one of the best players in Rockies history. As a member of the Rox, he made five All-Star teams and won a Gold Glove Award in all eight seasons. He popped 235 homers with the Rockies,hitting a career-high 42 back in 2015. He led the National League in home runs three times.
The Rockies traded him to the Cardinals in February of 2021 for a package of players that included left-handed pitcher Austin Gomber.
Arenado helped the Rockies get to the playoffs in both 2017 and 2018, getting there again with St. Louis in 2021 and 2022. He's never won a World Series which appears to be his primary concern when approving trades to new teams.
Arenado has showed signs of decline over the last year. In 2024, he hit .272 but had just 16 homers and 71 RBI. Those were his lowest outputs in each category since the first two years of his career (excluding the shortened 2020 COVID season).
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