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.

The St. Louis Cardinals are in a tricky and unexpected spot right now. St. Louis looked to trade star third baseman Nolan Arenado all throughout the offseason but failed to do so. The Cardinals superstar turned down a trade to the Houston Astros using his no-trade clause.

For much of the offseason, a Nolan Arenado trade seemed inevitable. But spring training is now rolling along and he’s still a Cardinal. Today, Katie Woo of The Athletic takes an extensive look at the twists and turns of the winter. Many of the details came out over the past few months but the piece also provides some new tidbits and extra context.