
When trade rumors connecting St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Houston Astros surfaced this offseason, it was tempting to frame a potential deal as a rebuilding Cardinals team shipping Arenado out to a contender.
How foolish that framing would've been. First, a proposed December trade fell apart thanks to Arenado's contractual no-trade clause. Then, Houston and St. Louis jumped out to identical 7–8 starts.