ST. LOUIS -- What had been rumored to be true was confirmed Friday: Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton will not accept a trade to the St. Louis Cardinals.

"We had an agreement to acquire Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins, subject to him waiving his no-trade clause," said Bill DeWitt Jr., the team's chairman and CEO, in a statement issued by the team. "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."

Unfortunately, we were not able to convince Stanton to waive his no-trade clause and join the Cardinals," team president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said in the same team press release. "We felt this was a great landing spot for him, but it was not meant to be."