Over the last couple of months, Kris Bryant and Nolan Arenado have been the talk of the trade market. Now, one of those options looks to be off the table, as Rockies GM Jeff Bridich told the Denver Post that trade talks surrounding Arenado are dead. Here’s an excerpt from the article by Patrick Saunders:
“With the season coming up and spring training on the horizon, we are going to start focusing on that,” Bridich said. “We have listened to teams regarding Nolan and really nothing has come of it. We are going to move forward pretty much as we expected — with Nolan in the purple and black and as our third baseman.”
Translation: “We were looking for a trade that would land us a treasure chest of prospects, but nobody would oblige, considering Arenado is not only owed $234 million over the next seven years, but he also has an opt-out clause after the 2021 season. Therefore, we will continue to start our superstar at third base. ”
While the Rockies explored their options, knowing that Arenado can’t possibly be happy with the way things are going in Colorado, a trade was always going to be a longshot unless they were willing to accept less of a prospect haul or eat some of the money. Since they seem to be unwilling to do either, they will roll the dice and hope things turn around before Arenado’s decision to opt-out arrives. Of course, all it takes is the right offer for conversations to heat back up again.
Arenado, a seven-year veteran and seven-time Gold Glove award winner, hit .315 with 31 homers and a career-high .962 OPS for the Rockies last season.
In a later report by Thomas Harding of MLB.com, Arenado referred to himself as feeling “disrespected.”
“There’s a lot of disrespect from people there that I don’t want to be a part of,” Arenado said. “You can quote that.”
The Rockies third baseman has a full no-trade clause in his contract, but it’s becoming evident he wants to be on a competitive club. However, as long as Colorado’s asking price remains astronomically high, it’s unlikely he is moved before spring training. But as mentioned is Saunders’ article, if the Rockies find themselves way behind early in the season, they may begin searching for a trade more urgently.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan believes it might not even take that long – based on the comments that have recently surfaced from Arenado.
This has a chance to get very ugly.
It's becoming increasingly clear Nolan Arenado wants out of Colorado. Which could take away the leverage the Rockies might have had in trade talks before Arenado went public.
This is beginning to resemble the Giancarlo Stanton mess in Miami. https://t.co/laOc6qNbOS
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 21, 2020
We will be monitoring this situation closely. Spring training is only a month away, so things could heat up quickly. But while the Rockies may now be more inclined to trade their star third baseman, it’s still a longshot the Braves are willing to take on his monstrous contract while also dealing some of their best prospects.
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