Astros Reportedly Will Not Pursue Cardinals Star Nolan Arenado Again at Deadline

The Houston Astros are looking for a third baseman to replace the injured Isaac Paredes, but they are not interested in pursuing Nolan Arenado, which could open the market for other potential trade targets. This decision may lead punters to bet on the Astros acquiring a rising talent that could better bolster their roster for a playoff push.

The Houston Astros are facing an interesting conundrum at the upcoming trade deadline this week.

This is an Astros team that has had as good a first half as anyone in baseball, and they are doing it with one hand tied behind their back.

With injuries that have piled up into a seemingly endless string of IL stints, Houston has the most players on the shelf in all of Major League Baseball.

And yet, they prepare to enter deadline week with a four game in the division and just a few games off the best record in the AL.

Perhaps the most devastating recent injury development was slugging third baseman Isaac Paredes out for the foreseeable future with a serious hamstring issue.

When Paredes could return and if it's even this year is very much up in the air, leaving the Astros needing someone to man the hot corner for the rest of the way and potentially October as well.

According to baseball insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today in his Sunday column though, they have already scratched one name off their list.

"The Houston Astros would like to find a third baseman while Isaac Paredes recovers from his hamstring tear but have no interest in reigniting talks with the St. Louis Cardinals for third baseman Nolan Arenado," Nightengale wrote.

It looked like Arenado was Houston-bound this offseason when the two sides agreed to a trade shortly after the Kyle Tucker deal.

However, believing that the Astros were entering a rebuild, Arenado exercised his no trade clause and vetoed the deal.

As things turned out, the veteran 10-time Gold Glove winner was not correct, but Houston does not seem to have any interest in giving him a second chance at hopping aboard.

In reality, it's likely more about production and money than it is any sort of leftover spite, as Arenado is still owed over $30 million over the next two seasons after 2025.

He has slashed just .237/.298/.371 this year with 10 home runs and 43 RBI, and it simply looks like his best baseball is behind him now at 34 years old.

The Astros could surely use a boost at the position before Thursday's deadline, but Arenado is no longer the kind of fit they are looking for.

For Houston, it's likely for the best that things did not work out there and it seems they have accepted that and moved on.

For more Astros news, head over to Astros On SI.

The ship has sailed between the Houston Astros and Nolan Arenado.

Si