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Earlier this offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros reportedly discussed a trade involving third baseman Nolan Arenado. The deal never came to fruition, largely because Arenado’s no-trade clause allowed him to ax a deal to Houston before it could be finalized.

MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post recently reported that the two sides are once again discussing the idea of a possible trade in the hopes that Arenado may clear the deal this time.

“Since nothing else materialized — there were talks with Boston in case Alex Bregman went elsewhere — the Cardinals and Astros recently re-engaged in case Arenado would accept now,” Heyman wrote. “That may still be the best hope. But there doesn’t appear to be anything imminent there, either.”

Though it’s still unknown whether Arenado would actually clear a trade to Houston, it’s quite interesting that the two sides have re-engaged their trade talks. That likely means St. Louis believes there’s a chance he would waive his clause.

But what would a trade look like?

This Cardinals-Astros trade would complete a previously rumored deal

Houston seems quite interested in Arenado despite the emergence of top prospect Cam Smith. They wanted Alex Bregman back, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see them in on Arenado again.

The Cardinals would likely need to eat north of $15 million of Arenado’s deal to get this trade done, but it could net them a decent prospect return.

This deal is quite simple. Houston acquires Arenado and around $20 million to pay for part of his deal. The Cardinals receive two top 20 prospects in the Astros’ organization, A.J. Blubaugh and Jose Fleury.

Blubaugh, 25, has a solid five pitch arsenal and solid command to go with it. The righty was excellent in 2024 as he pitched to the tune of a 3.71 ERA in 128.2 innings pitched. He seems ready to crack into the big leagues in 2025.

Fleury, 22, has one of the better changeups in all of the minor leagues. He’s a very talented pitching prospect, but the fact that he likely projects as a reliever drops his value quite a bit. The righty could be an impact arm in St. Louis’ bullpen in the next two years.

This deal works for both sides, though Houston would need to make room for Smith when he’s ready for the big leagues. Arenado would be a great addition to the 2025 roster, but he might create a log jam in a year or two. Houston can worry about that when it gets there.