The Nolan Arenado saga is set to drag on in St. Louis.
Despite the Cardinals' efforts to trade the eight-time All-Star this off-season, Arenado remains with the club with seemingly no resolution in sight.
The 10-time Gold Glover has a full no-trade clause and a list of five teams to which he would accept a trade, which has complicated negotiations.
Arenado would only green-light trades to the Red Sox, Dodgers, Padres, Yankees and Angels, according to MLB.com's John Denton. We saw him exercise that power in December when he reportedly nixed a trade to the Houston Astros.
And after the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman on Wednesday, it may have locked Arenado into the St. Louis infield for 2025.
"He's likely going to be a part of our club at this point," Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters on Thursday, per The Athletic's Katie Woo.
The 33-year-old is coming off his worst season in St. Louis, in which he hit 16 home runs in 152 games and finished with a .719 OPS. He still lived up to his reputation as arguably this generation's best defender, racking up six defensive runs save and nine outs above average, but with $64 million remaining on his salary — not including the $10 million the Rockies will pay over the next two seasons — he's a pricey addition for any club.
ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote Tuesday that St. Louis may have to "eat upward of half the money he is owed" just to get a trade done and that the "Cardinals' direction will become clearer when owner Bill DeWitt Jr. decides whether to kick in more money to facilitate an Arenado deal."
Based on Mozeliak's comments, it seems unlikely to happen.
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