Nolan Arenado at the mercy of Alex Bregman's decision, per Cardinals analyst

The Cardinals' offseason has been dominated by one question: Will they trade star third baseman Nolan Arenado? According to Cardinals analyst Katie Woo, the answer may hinge on where Alex Bregman signs.

Third basemen Bregman and Arenado's potential new destination are interconnected. That's because teams wanting to acquire a third baseman this offseason may not be ready to meet the contract demand of Bregman, possibly pivoting to trade target Arenado, whose hefty salary may be shedded to some extent by the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason.

On MLB Network, Woo noted that while Cardinals GM John Mozeliak publicly expressed an intent to explore trading Arenado, progress has been minimal. Arenado’s decision to exercise his full no-trade clause and veto a potential deal with the Houston Astros has stalled further discussions.

"I still think, and I’ve said this before and will maintain it, we are at the mercy of Alex Bregman’s signing," Woo said on Thursday. "That was one of the reasons why Arenado wasn't too sure if the Houston fit would be ideal for him. Again, he'd like to see what his market looks like, and it's going to be hard to figure that out until we know where Alex Bregman signs.

"We know, based on other reporting, that the Red Sox are one of the few teams still in on the Alex Bregman market. That certainly seems like an ideal place for Nolan, just from a speculation standpoint. But as we see, trades are a two-way street, and it’s certainly not been easy for the Cardinals to trade Nolan Arenado, despite them saying it's been their top priority."

---

Nolan Arenado willing to waive his no-trade clause for Red Sox, per analyst

According to John Denton, Nolan Arenado, who has a full no-trade clause in his contract, didn't waive for a potential deal with the Houston Astros but is open for trade to the Boston Red Sox.

The source said that Arenado's camp have informed the Cardinals to find him a deal to Boston. While on the outside, a trade may seem seamless, but the Red Sox wouldn't like to take the entirety of Arenado's $74 million remaining salary. That would require the Cardinals to swallow a good chunk of his salary.