Report: Arenado to the Houston Astros Trade Rumors Have Resurfaced

Earlier this offseason, Nolan Arenado blocked a trade that would have sent him from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Houston Astros. Now, with spring training underway, and his other potential destinations seemingly dried up, it looks like Arenado has had a change of heart, and talks between St. Louis and the Astros have picked up again.

The Astros are "rekindling trade talks for Nolan Arenado," per Brian McTaggart. pic.twitter.com/WELZT6nKmK
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) February 22, 2025

No, Arenado isn’t the player he was three years ago or more, but it could be argued that neither was Alex Bregman, the long-time Astros third baseman who left as a free agent and signed last week with the Boston Red Sox.

Arenado is an 8-time All-Star (compared to Bregman's two), and a 10-time Gold Glover at third base (compared to Bregman's one). Sure Arenado is three years older, but he also comes at a lot cheaper rate than what Bregman wanted, and both players have seen their OPS decline in each of the past two seasons.

Arenado is set to earn $74 million over the last three years of his contract (with $10M of that taken care of by the Colorado Avalanche), while Bregman signed in Boston for $120 million over the same three-year period. In December, when the original trade was killed by Arenado, the Cardinals were willing to send $15-20 million to the Astros as part of the deal to help pay down the veteran's salary. No word if that is still on the table.

If the Astros were able to bring in the former Cardinals and Colorado Rockies star to play the hot corner, it would move another Houston newcomer this winter, Isaac Paredes, to 2B. Jose Altuve, their longtime second baseman, is moving to left field this season.