The deal is done, or as the poor, kindly Colorado Rockies Twitter manager put it, the deal is done sad cry’y face.
https://twitter.com/rockies/status/1356432503708528640?s=21
Nolan Arenado, coming off a down and injured season, now joins the St. Louis Cardinals, where he will assuredly rebound. I say that less as a product of the Cardinals voodoo, and more just an acknowledgement that he’s probably still quite good. He will likely do some great things with the Cardinals, who gave up almost nothing of note to acquire him:
The Nolan Arenado-to-St. Louis trade is official. Other players in the deal have been informed. The return for the Rockies: Left-hander Austin Gomber and prospects Elehuris Montero (3B), Mateo Gil (3B), Tony Locey (RHP) and Jake Sommers (RHP).
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 2, 2021
I am more or less unfamiliar with any of the Cardinals prospects in the deal, and they range from 8th to unranked in the system’s top 30 at MLB Pipeline. Gomber might be a nice pitcher and comes with a lot of team control. But on the whole, this return is absolutely stunning for a player of Arenado’s caliber.
… and that’s before you factor in the reported $50 million going to the Cardinals in the deal, which, together with additional year added to the end, makes it a seven-year, $165 million contract for a superstar third baseman. Truly incredible. Truly Cardinals.
So, we are duty bound to hate Arenado now. He will fit in well with the Cardinals in that regard.