The Cardinals and Astros previously agreed on a deal in December which would've sent Arenado to Houston, but he vetoed the deal thanks to the full no-trade clause in his contract.

In Saturday’ spring opener vs. the Marlins, the Cardinals lineup features some of the club’s projected starters like third baseman Nolan Arenado, catcher Willson Contreras, and shortstop Masyn Winn.

The Cardinals were on the verge of trading Arenado, their top offseason goal, and they’d not only pulled off a deal, they’d matched with one of the teams on the eight-time All-Star’s short and semi-problematic five-team list of acceptable destinations.