Did you know that St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado could have been in a Houston Astros uniform?

Back in December, the rumor mills had gone crazy with the news. The Astros were seemingly looking to reload, and they felt Arenado was the bat to match. And why not? He is an All-Star and a generational player. And they called. They pursued. And for a hot minute, it did look like the cards were falling into place.

But they didn’t, because Nolan Arenado stayed put in St. Louis. The baseball world soon moved on, but one question loomed: What happened? Rumors went like, maybe a trade veto was used? Or perhaps he didn’t like Houston?

Now, after months, this off-season drama is back in the spotlight, as the All-Star third baseman finally spills the beans as to what happened. Why he didn’t sign with Houston, and well—the reason is deeper than you’d think!

Arenado told Chandler Rome of The Athletic, “I think a lot of fans think I just said ‘no’ because I think they’re bad, which is obviously false and not true…..For me to get my family to leave St. Louis at that point in the offseason, with how everything transpired with the trades and all that, it made me a little uncomfortable.” So it wasn’t that he didn’t want to play, but when the Astros dealt Kyle Tucker, their best all-round player, it raised alarm bells for him.

“When you see a team trade him, 99 out of 100 players would probably be wondering, ‘What does that mean?’ That’s the question I asked myself,” the $260 million star admitted. So there was no dramatic rejection and no last-minute veto that many rumors suggested. Arenado simply didn’t answer on time. He said he couldn’t decide on the window the team needed him to make.

So, Houston moved on, and then came Christian Walker. And as far as Arenado, he stayed in Gateway City. He is now slashing .316/.409/.526 with two homers and nine RBI in just 57 at-bats. He is showing stellar potential, and maybe this is exactly where he is meant to be.

Meanwhile, another Cardinals’ star is storming his way into the big leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals’ Willson Contreras’s secret to a power surge

There is no doubt that the St. Louis Cardinals have one of the most dangerous offenses right now. But there is a twist—they have been doing this all without a torpedo bat. For those who are unfamiliar, this bat was first made popular by the New York Yankees. Even though their captain himself isn’t using it, many of their stars did and got stellar results. This caused an uproar, and several players got interested.

However, one fan favorite from the St. Louis Cardinals wasn’t getting the hype—until now, that is.

Willson Contreras, the St. Louis Cardinals’ big investment, seems to be stuck in a slump. His numbers were bad—.158/.213/.263 line. Simply put, this isn’t something one would expect from a player the team got for five years and $87.5 million, right?

Bleacher Report’s Johnny Flores went blunt, saying, “Up until Sunday’s moonshot off Zack Wheeler, Contreras’ biggest highlight of the young season might have been him chewing on his batting tape.” Ouch! But well, things have turned for the better for him since. And if you didn’t guess it yet, it had a lot to do with the bats.

When Contreras declined the off-season trade rumors and the pressure simply piled on, he didn’t want the season to slip away. He gave it a try, and that’s where the magic happened. In his last two games, he used the torpedo bat and found the power he didn’t quite have. He smashed his first home run of the season, added a double, and had three RBIs. The best part? No strikeouts! For an inconsistent player, this sudden change is stunning.

If this spark is not one-off, the sudden boom can be the missing thing for the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central race. So, do you think his power is here to stay?