As Nolan Arenado’s commerce market continues to percolate, the no-trade clause within the third baseman’s contract places Arenado and his camp within the driver’s seat relating to figuring out whether or not or not he’ll go away the Cardinals. MLB.com’s John Denton experiences that Arenado would okay a deal to any of the Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Phillies, Mets, or Red Sox. It isn’t identified if these are the one six golf equipment on what Denton describes as Arenado’s “want checklist,” or if Arenado may very well be amenable to offers to every other golf equipment in the correct circumstances.
Agent Joel Wolfe mentioned his shopper’s state of affairs with reporters (together with Denton, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) immediately on the Winter Meetings, and implied that Arenado’s checklist of potential groups is “greater than you’d suppose.” The chief think about Arenado’s decision-making is discovering “a staff that he thinks goes to win now and constantly for the rest of his profession. He needs a staff that has the throttle down….that he believes he can bounce proper in and so they’re going to win proper now.”
This all being stated, Wolfe famous that Arenado is “not going to go simply to go,” or “approve and transfer his household and go play someplace that will…sidestepping” right into a state of affairs no higher than his present spot in St. Louis. Wolfe stated he and Arenado have been in common dialogue with Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, with Mozeliak floating some groups which have already been dismissed as “laborious no’s of the place he’d favor to not go.”
Earlier experiences indicated that three unknown “mid-market” golf equipment additionally had curiosity in Arenado’s companies, so these may very well be among the groups Arenado has already vetoed because the six groups on his checklist are greater spenders. The Yankees had additionally been linked to Arenado and Goold experiences that the Cardinals have been in contact with the Bronx Bombers concerning the third baseman. As Jones notes, the Yankees seem to be a match on paper given their want at third base and the presence of Arenado’s good buddy and outdated Rockies teammates DJ LeMahieu, nevertheless it stays to be seen if the Yankees are nonetheless on Arenado’s radar.
New York’s different staff may even have a gap on the scorching nook relying on how the Mets select to deploy Mark Vientos, or whether or not or not the Mets re-sign Pete Alonso or add one other huge first base bat. The Phillies likewise have an incumbent third baseman in Alec Bohm, however Bohm’s identify has been talked about in a number of commerce rumors as one of many big-league roster items Philadelphia is reportedly open to transferring to handle different wants.
The Red Sox and Padres have been extra speculatively linked as suitors just a few weeks in the past, and Goold experiences that St. Louis has already been involved with these two golf equipment about Arenado. Boston’s curiosity may hinge on whether or not or not they’d transfer Rafael Devers off third base, whereas Arenado’s personal obvious willingness to go away his longtime third-base place is perhaps associated to his curiosity in becoming a member of the Padres (as San Diego already has a star third baseman in Manny Machado).
Wolfe addressed his shopper’s provide of a place change as a method to get in entrance of any awkward questions from a staff’s finish on the topic. “The approach he phrased it, ‘I’ll play first,’ generally [teams] don’t need to ask a participant to do this,” Wolfe stated. “So he needed to supply it and say, ‘I’m blissful to play first, I can transfer round and play third.’ Nolan was like, ‘I’ll play shortstop, I’ll do no matter, however I’m not insulted to go play first, and I can win a Gold Glove over there, if that’s what it takes.’ ”
Since Arenado is from Southern California, it shouldn’t be ignored that the Padres, Dodgers, and Angels are all on his approval checklist, although Wolfe stated Arenado has no geographic desire about his subsequent vacation spot. It may very well be argued that the Angels is perhaps on Arenado’s checklist solely because of location, as a staff coming off 9 straight shedding seasons hardly appears to match Arenado’s desire for a staff able to win.
A commerce to the Dodgers appears off the desk, as The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and Katie Woo hear from sources that “a deal for Arenado shouldn’t be a chance the group has thought-about.” L.A. basic supervisor Brandon Gomes made a degree of claiming Monday that Max Muncy was going to stay because the staff’s common third baseman, and a place swap wouldn’t a lot assist Arenado discover a spot amidst the crowded Dodgers infield.
It stays to be seen if any of Arenado’s most well-liked groups could or could not need to carry the eight-time All-Star into the fold, although even within the occasion of mutual curiosity, there’s additionally the matter of understanding a commerce that can be acceptable to the Cardinals. Other problems embody Arenado’s age (he turns 34 in April), his declining energy during the last two seasons, and the $74MM ($10MM lined by the Rockies) in wage owed over the remaining three years of his contract.
