The St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to acquire five-time All-Star Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies, sources tell The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
The deal ― unlikely to be official Friday night and maybe even not this weekend, sources added ― is pending approval from both MLB and the players’ union. The Rockies are sending St. Louis significant cash, believed to be in the $50 million range; Arenado will be deferring money.
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Among the players Colorado could receive, per sources, are left-hander Austin Gomber, first baseman Luken Baker and outfielder Jhon Torres. An exact package is not confirmed.
Arenado, widely viewed as one of the best defensive infielders in MLB, has been a rumored trade candidate for the last few seasons, despite signing an eight-year, $260 million contract in 2019. Arenado will need to waive his full no-trade clause to join the Cardinals.
Also in his current contract is an opt-out clause after the 2021 season. Sources said Arenado would keep that opt-out clause and add another after the 2022 season in addition to keeping a full no-trade clause with St. Louis, if a deal is completed.
Arenado has won a Gold Glove Award in all eight major-league seasons in addition to being named an All-Star from 2015-2019. The third baseman boasts a career .293/.349/.541 slash line.
GO DEEPER
With the Cardinals, Nolan Arenado would no longer have to pick between winning and his waller
Was an Arenado trade inevitable?
Nick Groke, Rockies beat writer: Almost exactly a year ago, when Arenado bluntly called out his own general manager, saying Jeff Bridich was "very disrespectful," he allowed the world to peak behind the curtain in Colorado. "There has been a lot of stuff going on that nobody knows about," Arenado said.
It suddenly became clear he was on short time with the Rockies. Since then, it was merely a countdown to his departure. The only remaining obstacle was whether Bridich could find a suitable trade partner. It took Bridich a year, but he found one in the Cardinals.
Where does the Arenado addition leave the Cardinals in the NL?
Eno Sarris, baseball analytics writer: Boom. Suddenly the Cardinals are a favorite in the crowded National League Central, and the only team projected to finish above .500. That says something about the race in the NL's middle, but at least the Cardinals made the big addition to get ahead of the pack.
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Moving their third-base situation from seventh-worst to seventh-best is huge, and adding a big bat in the middle of that lineup is exactly what this team needed — and Arenado should hit. Remember Matt Holliday and others, because leaving Coors has its benefits, too.
What's next for the Rockies?
Groke: Owner Dick Monfort has already pivoted his focus to All-Star shortstop Trevor Story, believing that any money saved with Arenado can quickly move to signing Story long-term. But this is far from a guarantee.
In the immediate, they are a significantly worse team. They lost an eight-time Gold Glove winner and five-time All-Star still in his prime. Ryan McMahon will probably move to third base. They were already among the worst teams in the National League. Now they lost their best player. Why would Story want to stay for more of this?
(Photo: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)