Cardinals' Matt Carpenter Officially Has No-Trade Protection So Everyone Can Stop Asking
By Scott Rogust
The St. Louis Cardinals have emerged as the leading candidate to acquire Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado. Well, one potential trade piece the Redbirds may have considered dangling is veteran infielder Matt Carpenter, but that no longer seems like much of a possibility.
According to Derrick S. Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Carpenter officially has no-trade protection, effective at the conclusion of the 2019 season.
Matt Carpenter has no-trade protection today. Period. It’s from his extension, starting at end of 2019 season. And it’s in place now. I triple-checked my reporting from November and confirmed it again today with official.
— Derrick S. Goold (@dgoold) January 13, 2020
Hope this information helps.#cardinals #stlcards #MLB https://t.co/0p405RtfFG
Last April, the Cardinals signed Carpenter to a two-year, $39 million contract extension. However, the exact language of the deal wasn't known -- at least with regards to trade protection
Well, Goold's report, if true, will certainly make it harder to offload Carpenter. The 34-year-old was believed not to be under no-trade protection until Opening Day of the 2020 season, but that no longer appears to be the case.
Our @MLBBruceLevine just reported the Cardinals trade offer he heard for Nolan Arenado would be newly acquired Matthew Liberatore, Dakota Hudson, Carlos Martinez, and Tyler O'Neill. Good luck topping that offer, anyone.
— M@ (@MattSpiegel670) January 11, 2020
The Cardinals made a big splash by sending Jose Martinez and Randy Arozarena to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for top pitching prospect in Matt Liberatore. The young pitcher alone increases the value of St. Louis' trade package, and make the Rockies more enticed to move on from their star third baseman.
They'll still be in on Arenado, but they may have to get a bit more creative with their offers now.