Strongly featuring Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and the New York Yankees

There’s been a lot of buzz lately around the St. Louis Cardinals and potential trades, with some pretty interesting names floating around. Nolan Arenado blocked a trade to Houston! The Yankees made a play for Paul Goldschmidt! Let’s just say, the reports are flying fast and I, for one, can’t keep track of all of them. What I’m saying is I need to close some of these browser tabs. One of them is playing some loud advertisement and I can’t figure out which one it is. So, for yours and my convenience, I’ve rounded up the trade rumors I’ve been following here to break down what’s really going on and what it could mean for the Cardinals.

Nolan Arenado blocked a trade to the Houston Astros

Early this week Arenado invoked his No Trade Clause to block a deal to Houston. Reports indicate this decision might not be final and Arenado might change his mind as the offseason plays out. According to Arenado and his agent, Arenado’s preference is to be on a contending team. The Astros trade of Kyle Tucker, their best hitter according to wRC+ at 180, and their seeming unwillingness to re-sign Alex Bregman, who in his nine seasons in Houston amassed nearly 40 fWAR for the team, might not be the signs Arenado is looking for to convince him to move his family to another state.