Certainly one major star in baseball will be traded this off-season, right?
Now it appears that star is Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado. This report is according to Jon Morosi on twitter who says ‘A Nolan Arenado trade is more likely now than a Mookie Betts or Francisco Lindor trade’. Morosi says that multiple sources have confirmed such to him in the past 48 hours.
A Nolan Arenado trade is more likely now than a Mookie Betts or Francisco Lindor trade, multiple @MLB sources have told me in the last 48 hours. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 13, 2020
On Sunday night, word broke that the St. Louis Cardinals were coming on strong in trade talks for Arenado. This came from MLB.com.
One source said the Rockies and Cardinals have engaged in “preliminary” trade negotiations regarding Arenado, the five-time All-Star third baseman and seven-time National League Gold Glove Award winner.
St. Louis intends to add one star-level position player before Spring Training begins next month, and Arenado is an appealing option if the Cardinals don’t re-sign free-agent outfielder Marcell Ozuna. The Rangers are competing in a similar sector of the market as the Cards, having shown interest in trading for Arenado or signing Ozuna or Nicholas Castellanos in free agency. At this point, it appears both the Cardinals and Rangers are more serious about Arenado than the Braves, who checked in with the Rockies about him at the Winter Meetings.
Notably, a key sticking point in all of this is Arenado waiving his right to opt out after the 2021 season. This language exists in his contract, and it would be him giving up his right to test the free agent market within that short upcoming time frame. Obviously, this would mean Arenado will remain on his current deal with any new team that acquires him for the long-term.
Finally, is this bad for baseball? Just a year ago, the Rockies decided to give Arenado a long-term extension and make him their cornerstone. Now just a year later, they are trying feverishly to trade the guy. I don’t know about you, but this doesn’t have the best look to it to me.
