Mariners Rumors: Division rival re-engages Cardinals in Nolan Arenado trade talks

It has been an interesting offseason for the Astros. Earlier in the winter, they traded Kyle Tucker to the Cubs. More recently, they lost Alex Bregman in free agency. All of this makes Houston less imposing than they have been over the past several years, but they might still have an ace up their sleeve.

Chandler Rome and Katie Woo of The Athletic recently reported that the Astros reignited trade discussions in an attempt to acquire Nolan Arenado, something they were doing in the final weeks prior to spring training. This was an attempt to backfill the hot corner spot with Bregman's impending departure and fill the role with someone more offensively imposing than Isaac Paredes, who they received from the Cubs in the Tucker deal.

An interesting side effect of the attempts to lure Bregman back to Houston while still utilizing Paredes was discussing the possibility of moving Jose Altuve to left field. The general idea would be that this move would allow Bregman to play third base while Paredes played second. If the team does end up making a trade for Arenado (and assuming Paredes isn't included as a piece of that trade), simply swap Bregman's name for Arenado and you have the Astros' infield plan for the 2025 season.

John Mozeliak, the Cardinals' president of baseball operations, stated that he "doesn't feel anything is imminent" regarding Arenado, but Houston is still actively working out Altuve in the outfield and plans to give him meaningful spring training reps in his new role. With Bregman now committed to Boston for the next few years, this would seem to be a clear signal that the Astros are still looking for an upgrade at third base.

If a deal doesn't get done with the Cardinals, there aren't many other options left for Houston. The list of available free agents was already thin at the position and among the pieces that have been deemed available for trade discussions, Ryan McMahon may be the only other slightly alluring option.

This is great news for the Mariners. It has been years since their most heated division rival has been without a stable core of championship-caliber players. Right now, FanGraphs has Seattle and Houston finishing the season with 84 wins a piece, putting both teams just one game behind the Rangers for the division lead. If the Mariners play their cards right and get aggressive with roster moves, they could sit atop the AL West for the first time since 2001.