Cardinals and Rangers Expected to Step up Nolan Arenado Pursuit in Coming Days
By Michael Luciano
The Colorado Rockies have apparently made the incredibly baffling decision to float superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado in trade talks, and the infielder is peeved that the franchise would do such a thing just a year removed from giving him a record-breaking contract.
If the disgruntled Arenado is indeed traded, expect the Texas Rangers, who missed out on Anthony Rendon, and the St. Louis Cardinals, who just lost Marcell Ozuna to the Braves, to be in the market for his services.
Nolan Arenado's future with the #Rockies remains uncertain, as the #STLCards and #Rangers are poised to pursue trades for him in the days ahead. Latest story: https://t.co/1HvpdJhTmm @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 22, 2020
One could make a legitimate case that landing Arenado means that the Cardinals or Rangers would land the best infielder in all of baseball. Arenado has been an All-Star in each of the last five years, leading the NL in RBI twice and home runs three times. Over the last five years, he has never hit below. 287, hit fewer than 37 home runs, or driven in less than 110 runs.
Oh, and he might be the best defender in all of baseball. If the Rockies were truly dumb enough to alienate him, the Rangers and Cardinals should mortgage their future to bring in a player of his caliber.
Nolan Arenado to MLB-dot-com on #Rockies: “There’s a lot of disrespect from people there that I don’t want to be a part of. You can quote that.” https://t.co/fNAoFht0YF
— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) January 21, 2020
Arenado might be playing closer to sea level in 2020, and both St. Louis and Texas would be committing baseball sacrilege if they didn't check in on his availability.