Cardinals Acquiring Nolan Arenado from Rockies
Welp, so much for the good news of Tom Ricketts opening up a little extra room in the Cubs’ baseball budget. As Ken Rosenthal first reported, the Cardinals have agreed to the terms of a trade that will bring Nolan Arenado to St. Louis from Colorado.
BREAKING: Cardinals have agreed to acquire Nolan Arenado from Rockies, sources tell @TheAthletic. Deal pending approval from both MLB and players’ union; Rockies sending Cardinals significant cash, believed to be in $50M range, and Arenado will be deferring money.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 30, 2021
The Rockies are reportedly sending around $50 million in cash and Arenado may defer some of his salary, while the Cards are sending multiple prospects back in return. Wow, I just…damn it. You don’t need me to tell you how massive this is.
Deal unlikely to be official tonight and maybe even not this weekend. Arenado will need to formally waive his no-trade clause and his opt-out after 2021 also must be addressed. Approvals from MLB and union necessary as well, as reported in initial tweet. https://t.co/xuCNkaD5kq
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 30, 2021
I honestly can’t believe the Cards still had enough devil magic left to swing a deal for another MVP-caliber player from the NL West, but here we are. With this move alone, St. Louis becomes the favorite in a depressed NL Central that has lagged well behind the rest of the league in terms of spending. The question now is whether the Cubs do something to keep pace or return to turtling up and waiting out the 2021 season.