Rockies Trade Nolan Arenado To The Cardinals

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It was announced last Friday, that the Colorado Rockies had traded star third basemen Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals for a few prospects. The Cardinals sent Promising Lefty Starting Pitcher Austin Gomber, as well as their 8th Overall Prospect Third Basemen Elehuris Montero, 19th Overall Prospect Righty Tony Locey, 22nd Overall Prospect Shortstop Mateo Gil, and Righty Jake Sommers. The Cardinals received Arenado as well as an estimated sum of 50 Million Dollars in return. The Rockies are paying a sizable amount of Arenado contract which is very large. Arenado has an Opt Out after the 2021 Season, and has now been given an additional opt out after the 2022 Season. However, Arenado is unlikely to take either of these Opt Outs as he is already being paid a lot of money and St. Louis is a top destination for many players.

What This Means For The Cardinals

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The Cardinals are a team that often confuses me. The club always has a lot of promise and a lot of good players in their roster. For three straight seasons from 2016 to 2018, the team got very close to the playoffs but just missed all three times. Then in 2019, the club won 91 games and finally made it to the playoffs in their division which was fairly weak that year. Then in 2020, the Cardinals did make the playoffs but only by winning 30 games in the short season due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. The Cardinals now acqired Arenado, who is a star and should be a big help in 2021.

The Cardinals are looking good in 2021, in part because of how weak their division is. The NL Central has the Brewers, Reds, and Cubs who are all mediocre and all three might enter rebuilds. The Cardinals are definitely thet best in their division and this was solidified when the club traded for Arenado. The Cardinals should be good in 2021, and are likely to win their division, the NL Central.

What This Means For The Rockies

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The Rockies every year believe that they can contend and will be a good team. In 2017, the Rockies surprised everyone and made the playoffs for the first time since 2009 by taking the second wild card spot. The Rockies were even better in 2010, and once again took that wild card spot and were able to make it this time to the NLDS against the Brewers. The Rockies were not good in 2019 and missed the playoffs that year. In 2020, the Rockies started off well but quickly fell of and finished fourth in their division. The Rockies have realized that they are not a good team and cannot compete in their division or in the competitive National League anymore going forward.

The Rockies traded Arenado knowing this fact. Colorado is likely to trade Trevor Story, who will become a free agent in 2022 after this season. They will likely move him before the trade deadline in July as they likely will not be in the postseason race by then. The Rockies will now enter a painful and likely long rebuild. The trade the club just made with the Cardinals was bad for the club as they got very little back from the Cardinals, while paying a large sum of Arenado's contract. The Rockies will have a tough road ahead of them and are the next few years in Denver will not be pretty.

What This Means For The Rest Of Baseball

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This move will and already has had a large effect on baseball.

First, the rest of the NL Central. The trade is very interesting for the rest of the teams in the division with the exception of the Pirates, who are just bad. The Cardinals were already the favorites to win the division but this made it even more obvious. However, the division by no means is out of contention for the Brewers, Reds, or Cubs, as the Cardinals are still not elite and have many holes on their team in the lineup, rotation, and even in their bullpen.

Next, the rest of the baseball. This move by the Cardinals was probably one of the last blockbusters this offseason outside of future signings of Bauer and Ozuna. This move was interesting for many reasons but wasn't neccessarily suprising, at least for me.

The Nolan Arenado trade was a huge deal and it will be interesting to see how this effects the game of baseball from the Cardinals to the Rockies to the rest of the game. For more, check out other articles on my website and make sure to check out other pages on my website and my Instagram account, @marksportsmlb