Astros rekindle trade efforts for Arenado (sources)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Astros have renewed their interest in trading for Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado, multiple sources told MLB.com on Saturday.

Arenado, who nixed a trade to the Astros in December, could now be willing to waive his no-trade clause and join a Houston team that has since added Christian Walker to play first base -- a move which hadn¡¯t been made when Arenado vetoed the trade and shows the Astros¡¯ plan to push forward as contenders.

In December, the Cardinals were willing to send $15-20 million to the Astros as part of the deal to help pay down Arenado¡¯s salary, sources said. The eight-time All-Star is set to earn $74 million over the next three years, though the Rockies are on the hook for $10 million as part of their 2021 trade with the Cardinals, while $12 million of the deal is deferred, bringing the present-day value of what he is owed to roughly $60 million. The money the Cardinals were willing to include would have brought the Astros¡¯ commitment down to roughly $40-45 million over three years.

The Astros traded Kyle Tucker to the Cubs in mid-December to trim payroll, saving $8.5 million, to get under the CBT, but the club would be willing to surpass it to get a player of Arenado¡¯s caliber.

The Yankees kicked the tires on Arenado at some point this offseason, but plan on filling their third base vacancy with some combination of DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza. The Yankees¡¯ interest in Arenado could be reignited based on how that trio plays this spring, but at the moment, sources say the Yankees are not pursuing Arenado.

Part of the reason for Arenado¡¯s reluctance to come to Houston in December, according to a source, was that the Astros had just traded Tucker to the Cubs, but the addition of Walker signals Houston is still looking to win. The Astros lost free agent third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency to the Red Sox, which also helped Arenado clarify his market.

¡°I¡¯ve got a lot of goals, and I truly feel in my heart I can achieve all of them,¡± Arenado said Friday. ¡°I think about (the Hall of Fame) and I¡¯d love to accomplish that. But just like with the trade stuff, when I start thinking about it, I remind myself that I need to get back to work.¡±

The Astros would likely plug Arenado in at third base and move Isaac Paredes -- one of three players acquired for Tucker -- to second base. The Astros are moving Jose Altuve, who¡¯s started at second base for Houston since 2011, to left field this season.

With a full no-trade clause in his contract, Arenado will have the final say over where he goes ¨C or whether he goes at all, but he¡¯s expected to be traded prior to Opening Day, a source said.

Trading Arenado would help the Cardinals stick to their initial plans of clearing salary off their books and committing fully to shifting the focus to their young core. When they were unable to trade Arenado this offseason, they had to deviate from those plans and welcome Arenado into the Spring Training camp.

Dealing Arenado would allow the Cardinals to move lefty slugger Nolan Gorman back to third base from second base and it could open up playing time for Minor League standout Thomas Saggese. The move would also put Gold Glover Brendan Donovan at second base and ease an overcrowded outfield that includes Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar, Michael Siani and Victor Scott II.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said last week that every time he thought about an Arenado deal this offseason, he feared a big bounce-back season from one of the club¡¯s most driven players.

¡°As we think about (resetting the roster), he does make us a better team if he¡¯s Nolan ¡­ and if he¡¯s happy,¡± he said. ¡°I like that he does seem to be motivated to want to be good. I can candidly say of all the trade conversations I¡¯ve been in, (an Arenado bounce-back year) is what scares me the most. I think great players have that extra gear and when they find it, they¡¯re special.

¡°I would not bet against him; I¡¯d bet on him. And I was afraid someone else was going to get that if we traded him. He¡¯s a special player and he can still do things that many can¡¯t.¡±

Arenado, who purposefully distracted himself from the trade talk over the offseason by pouring himself into conditioning work, received a rousing ovation from the mostly pro-Cardinals crowd at Roger Dean Stadium before his first at bat on Saturday. He went 1 for 2 before departing the game for a pinch runner. Arenado told MLB.com after Saturday¡¯s game that he had yet to talk his representatives about any potential trades.

Cards manager Oliver Marmol praised the 33-year-old Arenado for his focus in camp and how he¡¯s refused to allow the swirling trade rumors to serve as a distraction.

¡°I think ¡®pretty well¡¯ would be an incredible understatement,¡± Marmol said of the 10-time Gold Glove winner¡¯s focus. ¡°He¡¯s as pro as you can possibly be. He¡¯s channeled everything into preparing himself to be the best player possible to help us get to where we need to get to. There¡¯s zero distraction and he¡¯s locked in on being here and maximizing every bit of his talent.

¡°He¡¯s in a really good place.¡±

Mozeliak declined to comment on the trade negotiations with the Astros. He also refused to speculate as to whether Arenado had any change of heart in possibly accepting a deal to the Astros this time around.