The St Louis Cardinals are entering a rebuild. They let Paul Goldschmidt walk in free agency and tried to trade Nolan Arenado all offseason long. But no one has made the move for Arenado and the Boston Red Sox are off the board after signing Alex Bregman. The Athletic's Jayson Stark reported that two potential suitors are off the table for a Cardinals trade because Arenado has a no-trade clause.

“The teams that make sense — Toronto and Seattle — are clubs he’d be unlikely to approve a trade to join,” Stark reported. “And the places he’d like to go don’t seem to think they need him, at least not after the worst season of his career. It’s fair to wonder how uncomfortable he’ll be in St. Louis after all this. But as one exec put it Thursday morning, that answer is obviously: ‘More comfortable than Toronto!'”

Stark's reporting does not say whether or not the Blue Jays or Mariners actually offered a trade for Arenado. But both of them had disappointing offseasons and could have gone the trade route after free-agency misses. Arenado did decline a trade to the Astros, so the Cardinals accepting the terms of a deal is not the only hurdle.

Where can Nolan Arenado end up?

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) hits a double against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning at Oracle Park.
D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
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In his report, Stark gets this quote from a different rival executive. “If the market was big, he’d already have been gone, because I know the Cardinals were absolutely actively looking to deal him.” So the trade market is relatively small and continued to shrink as spring training kicks off.

The Mariners brought Jorge Polanco back in free agency, likely taking them out of the Arenado race. Bregman eliminates the Red Sox, and the Astros have been taken out by Arenado. But the New York Yankees have not brought in a third baseman and could swing the deal before opening day.

Goldschmidt went to the Yankees and could recruit his Cardinals teammate to The Bronx. By moving Jazz Chisholm Jr to second base, they have an opening at third with no obvious fit. DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, or Oswald Peraza could fill that role. Or Arenado could come in and bring his Hall-of-Fame glove with him.

The Blue Jays missed out on all of the big free agents they were in on early this offseason. They saved it at the end with a trade for Andres Gimenez and signing Anthony Santander and Max Scherzer. If they can get Arenado in, they could be contenders in the AL.