When it comes to trading Nolan Arenado, think of Giancarlo Stanton.
The Rockies have re-engaged with the Cardinals in connection with the star’s third base, as Ken Rosenthal first reported to The Athletic.
There are so many obstacles to completing this type of transaction, amplified by the financial uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led, among other things, to NL Central, a bunch of talent close to the group in which players such as Josh Bell, Yu Darvish, Raisel Iglesias, Jon Lester, Joe Musgrove, Jose Quintana, Kyle Schwarber, Jameson Taillon and Probably soon, Trevor Bauer came out. On Thursday, the Cardinals reached an agreement to detain Adam Wainwright on a $ 8 million-a-year pact. It doesn’t sound too much. But at the moment, it was four times more than the rest of the combined division had spent on the free agency before Joc Pederson reached an agreement with the Cubs on Friday for a year and about $ 5 million.
So, St. Louis may decide that if the rest of the division withdraws, then why take the long-term risk on Arenado? The division could be won without him.
But let’s pretend we’re at a time when, you know, teams actually care about getting better. In this scenario, there is a plan for this type of trade, and the cardinals and Agent Arenado know it.
Joel Wolfe is an agent for both Arenado and Stanton. After the 2017 season, the Cardinals entered into a deal with the Marlins for Stanton, who invoked his trading clause. Stanton’s preference was to get to his hometown of the Dodgers, but he was good with the Yankees. Arenado would also like to get to his hometown of the Dodgers, but he would be fine with the Cardinals.
Stanton signed a 13-year, $ 325 million contract with the team that drafted him in the second round (Marlins). Arenado signed an eight-year, $ 260 million contract with the Rockies in the second round. Both have long-term ties to the franchise, promising to spend to earn around the now well-paid stars. But they were both skilled enough to know that this was not the history of the organization. So none of them could be surprised when this did not happen. However, players could not refuse this type of guaranteed money, despite the franchise’s history. So, these offers had the feeling of an NBA situation in which the star takes the guaranteed money and then forces her way out of town when she becomes frustrated with the organization (did you notice James Harden in Brooklyn, for example?).
Stanton was 10 years old and had $ 295 million left. The Marlins were desperate to wipe out as much as they could. So they agreed to take over the remaining $ 22 million for Starlin Castro, eat $ 30 million if Stanton did not call for his resignation after the 2020 campaign, and accept two prospects for lottery tickets. away from majorities.
In all, the Yankees saved $ 52 million. The equivalent would be the Cardinals, who save about $ 35 million in six years, at $ 199 million left on the Arenado. Obviously, this is just a guide. Stanton was coming off an MVP season, but he had less defensive value and they were 10 years old. Arenado will play at the age of 30 in 2021, but he is recovering from his worst season and a shoulder injury. However, he remains one of the best third defensive bases in history and, from 2015 to 2019, finished the top eight for NV MVP.
The Cardinals have a lot of Castro-type contracts to make up for. Miles Mikolas (three years at $ 47.25 million), Matt Carpenter (one year, $ 20.5 million) and Dexter Fowler (one year, $ 14.5 million) do not have trade clauses that should give them up. Carlos Martinez (one year, $ 12 million) and Andrew Miller (one year, $ 12 million) did not, but would receive an award bonus of $ 1 million. Any of these, individually or together, would provide a refund for Arenado.
The Rockies, in theory, could do what the Red Sox just did by taking the majority of Adam Ottavino’s contract to gain access to the Frank German prospect. Colorado may accept more back contracts or eat more dollars to gain access to better prospects. For example, the Cardinals can build a transaction around one of the best basic potentials in the game, coinciding with the first name Nolan – Nolan Gorman.
Arenado may give up after the 2021 season, but would probably push this back to facilitate a transaction. If so, the Rockies may agree to eat part of the deal – as with Stanton – if the waiver is not triggered.