When Nolan Arenado signed an eight-year contract extension with the Colorado Rockies in spring training in 2019, it looked like he would spend the rest of his career in a Rockies uniform. He had said over time that he wanted to play for a consistent competitor in the playoffs and that the Rockies were facing back-to-back appearances. “I think the future is much brighter in Colorado than in the past,” he said at the time.
However, things can change quickly in baseball and Arenado’s relationship with the Rockies soon worsened. After two bad seasons, with a lackluster list of major leagues and a minor league system that ranks as one of the weakest in the sport, while trying to compete in a division with the Dodgers and Padres, the immediate future of the Rockies looks much more depressing than brilliant. Arenado agreed to waive its trading clause, the Rockies traded the franchise icon to St. Louis Cardinals in a very successful business.
The Cardinals are five times All-Star and eight-time gold glove winner, a superstar even in the narrowest definition. From 2015 to 2019, Arenado reached .300 / .362 / .575 with an average of 157 games, 40 home rounds and 124 RBIs. He finished no less than eighth in the MVP voting and was third behind Mike Trout and Mookie Betts in the WAR among the position players.
As good as Arenado was, it’s not necessarily a risk-free trade for cardinals.