The St. Louis Cardinals have outperformed their expectations this season. They entered a "reset" period, but find themselves in postseason contention.
During the offseason, they attempted to unload third baseman Nolan Arenado, but their chances of doing so were dashed when Alex Bregman signed with the Boston Red Sox.
Arenado has a no-trade clause and has the final say in any potential trade. He used that clause to veto a trade to the Houston Astros.
Miranda Remaklus of Redbird Rants predicts that with St. Louis in contention, they will not trade Arenado, and that Arenado won't accept a trade away from St. Louis.
"With Arenado leading this club alongside Willson Contreras, Lars Nootbaar, Sonny Gray, and Brendan Donovan, why throw off the whole vibe of this team? Arenado leaving would be a huge blow to this young team that looks to him for guidance. Why even do that to this team? Why would he even do this to himself?" Remaklus wrote.
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Arenado hasn't put together his best season by any stretch. He's hitting just .245/.306/.395 with 10 home runs and 39 RBI.
However, he still brings elite defense to the table and is arguably the best defensive third baseman in Major League Baseball.
At this point, with St. Louis in contention, it wouldn't make sense for them to trade Arenado away, and it wouldn't make sense for Arenado to waive his no-trade clause.
If they fall out of contention, then it becomes a possibility, but St. Louis has been able to beat some of the best teams in the league, and Arenado's defense has been a contributing factor.
It will be interesting to see how St. Louis operates at the deadline, but an Arenado trade appears unlikely.
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