The Cardinals of St. Louis bought third baseman Nolan Arenado in a deal with the Colorado Rockies, sources confirmed to Jeff Passan from ESPN on Friday.
The Rockies receive more players in the deal and will send over $ 50 million to St. Louis. Louis, the sources said.
The news was first reported by The Athletic.
Arenado, 29, is scheduled to earn $ 35 million in 2021 as part of a $ 260 million contract he signed with the Rockies in 2019. The deal includes a waiver clause after season ’21.
Five-time All-Star, Arenado battled the set during the short 2020 season, hitting .253 with eight homers before losing the last nine games with a bruise on his left shoulder. He also won an eighth consecutive gold glove.
The bottom year came after he hit the best .315 of his career with 41 homers and 118 RBIs in 2019.
In December, Rockies manager Bud Black downplayed rumors that Arenado and Trevor Story shortstop would be traded, saying, “My expectation is that they will be with us on opening day.”
The Rockies have missed the playoffs in the past two seasons after making the wild-card round in 2017 and the National League Division Series in 2018.