You almost never see a team talk as openly about trying to trade a player as the St. Louis Cardinals did this offseason with third baseman Nolan Arenado. Even less frequent is, after all that open talk, a trade doesn’t materialize.
Discussed as though it were the organization’s top priority for the offseason, the Cardinals were unable to trade Arenado, coming off back-to-back down years, ahead of his age-34 season. Short of giving him the Jordan Montgomery treatment on the radio, the Cardinals made clear that they were eager to move on and save some cash.
But no dice, and now Spring Training begins.
It wasn’t entirely the Cardinals’ fault, mind you, because they’d reportedly come to an agreement with the Astros on a trade that got nixed by Arenado. And the pool of clubs to which he’d accept a trade was reportedly very small.
Then again, perhaps if the Cardinals had better communicated with Arenado throughout the process before it became so public, maybe they would’ve known that a trade was unlikely to come together? And maybe there would’ve been less awkwardness at this point?
Oh well. Not like I care. Give me ALL the awkwardness from here. The Cardinals set out to have a certain kind of offseason, sending out as much as they could while restocking for the future. They accomplished none of that, while also doing essentially nothing at all. That’s good by me. Now I want to see them stink this year, and also have a bunch of drama, and also fail to make meaningful trades at midseason. A disastrous Cardinals year is a storyline I would very much enjoy following.
THAT SAID, so far, Arenado is definitely playing his part as well as a guy can. His attitude on arriving to camp seemed to be about trying to shut down the talk before it started, via the STL Post-Dispatch:
“I think if I’m a better ballplayer — if I’m me — I think I just make any team better, to be quite honest with you. If I’m here, I’m going to give everything I’ve got, and I can make this team better for sure. … I’ve got to go out and play ball and be me. Last year was not what I want the Cardinals fans to know me as, so I see this as an opportunity kind of change that script. I’m back, and I’m ready to go play ball.”
More, via a separate STL Post-Dispatch piece:
“I’m a ballplayer, and I’m a Cardinal, until I’m told I’m not. You know what I mean? And that’s all there is to it. And I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’ve got to be a better ball player, and that’s what I’m focused on.”
For his part, Cardinals President John Mozeliak indicated he’ll try to operate with the same kind of he’s a Cardinals player for now-type mindset, but did add that if something comes up, he’ll go talk to Arenado about it. That is to say, he’s pretty clearly hoping the offers still come eventually.
No full on drama right now. But awkwardness aplenty, especially if Arenado comes out of the gate struggling. Part of the stated reason for wanting to move Arenado – besides the money – was to open up starts at third base for Nolan Gorman. They can still kinda coordinate it such that Gorman plays at second and Brendan Donovan plays in the outfield, but it’s probably not their preferred approach in a year where they’d like to know a bit more about what Gorman, a former top prospect, can be for them long-term.
(And, no, you should not be looking for the Cubs to bail the Cardinals out and talk about an Arenado trade.)
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Nolan Arenado, After an Offseason of Trade Rumors, is Still with the Cardinals )
Also on site :