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Cardinals out on Stanton after he refused to waive no-trade clause

Christian Petersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Cardinals chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. announced Friday that his club is moving on from its pursuit of Miami Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton, who wouldn't waive his no-trade clause to accept a deal to St. Louis.

"We had an agreement to acquire Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins, subject to him waiving his no-trade clause," DeWitt said in a statement, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. "We have been notified that he will not waive his no-trade clause to come to St. Louis. While we are disappointed in his decision, we will continue to make every effort to improve our club for the upcoming season."

From the outset of the offseason, Stanton never seemed all that keen to play for the Cardinals, with reports back in mid-November pegging the reigning National League MVP as unlikely to accept a trade to St. Louis. Still, the Cardinals were undeterred, and ended up not only working out a tentative deal with the Marlins, but also sending team officials to meet with Stanton's representatives in Los Angeles last week. Terms of the agreed-upon trade with Miami haven't been confirmed, but the Cardinals reportedly included pitching prospect Sandy Alcantara in their package and were prepared to absorb more of the $295 million left on Stanton's contract than the San Francisco Giants, who are also said to have a tentative framework for a Stanton deal in place with the Marlins.

"We felt this was a great landing spot for him, but it was not meant to be," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak added.

On Thursday, Stanton's acceptable trade destinations came into focus, as it was reported the 28-year-old would only approve deals with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and New York Yankees. Of those four teams, Stanton, a Los Angeles native, is widely believed to prefer the Dodgers.

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