Colorado Rockies news and links for Wednesday, November 13, 2024
It’s a day that will live in infamy for the Colorado Rockies. After swirling rumors and public disputes all winter, the Rockies finally traded star third baseman Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals along with $50 million on February 1, 2021, for a five-player package.
There is no real need to rehash and explain the full details of the trade or why it materialized in the first place, but it felt appropriate to examine the trade’s results and repercussions amid the state of the Rockies roster and the fact that the Cardinals are likely to shop Arenado around this winter.
When the Rockies sent Arenado to St. Louis they received Austin Gomber, Mateo Gil, Tony Locey, Jake Sommers, and Elehuris Montero. It’s safe to say that the trade package hasn’t exactly panned out very well for the Rockies.
The results
Out of the players received, only Gomber and Montero actually played with the big league squad.
Mateo Gil played 153 games in the Rockies farm system between 2021 and 2022, reaching High-A Spokane before being scooped up by the New York Mets in the minor league Rule-5 draft in 2022. His numbers were okay in the Rockies farm system and he has struggled in the Mets system these past two seasons to provide consistent and productive offense.
Tony Locey had a strong first season in the Rockies system with Low-A Fresno in 2021 but eventually hit a wall in Double-A in 2022. The Rockies traded him to Tampa Bay for some cash at the start of 2023 and he appeared in just 19 innings of relief to average results in Tampa Bay’s system before being released in August 2023. He hasn’t been in affiliated ball since.
Jake Sommers threw just 53 innings from 2021 to 2024 as injuries continued to ravage his time on the field and he struggled as a result as well. In 2024 he managed to reach Triple-A but in 11 innings between Albuquerque and Hartford, he posted a 10.37 ERA with 15 strikeouts and nine walks. He voluntarily retired back in June.
Despite being the prized prospect in the trade, Montero struggled to find a place defensively and his bat left a lot to be desired. Sure he dominated in Triple-A with the Isotopes, but it never translated to the big leagues as he slashed .228/.277/.387 with just 21 home runs in 739 plate appearances over three seasons. The team designated him for assignment at the end of June after an unproductive .205/.267/.304 slash with four home runs in 67 games and he finished the year with a .309/.397/.582 slash and 16 home runs over 65 games in Triple-A. He became a minor league free agent at the end of the season and recently signed to play in Japan with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
Gomber is the only one to provide a positive WAR with the Rockies thanks to his 3.9 rWAR. The lefty has battled injuries at times, as well as consistency, but he has also shown glimpses of brilliance and reliability. 2024 saw him turn in one of his best seasons in Colorado where he threw a career-high 165 innings over 30 starts and had a 4.75 ERA. He’s not exactly the type of arm you’d have hoped to gain from a player like Arenado, but Gomber has been adequate all things considered. Still, he enters his final year of arbitration and it still remains to be seen if the Rockies choose to hold on to him or try to trade him to cut payroll and give more opportunities to their young starters.
Nolan the Cardinal
For Arenado, it’s been business as usual at the plate for the most part. Since joining the Red Birds he has been named an All-Star three times, won a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger, and finished second in MVP voting in 2022 while playing most every day at the hot corner.
Over four seasons his numbers have understandably taken a hit away from the confines of Coors Field and from the effects of the natural aging process, but he has still batted .271/.328/.470 with 106 home runs and 372 RBI in 601 games. He has also been worth 15.5 rWAR for the Cardinals.
The irony for Arenado, however, is that his desire to play for a contender led him to the Cardinals. Since joining them, however, the Cardinals have played just three playoff games and lost all of them. He then endured a last-place finish in their division in 2023 and finished 10 games behind Milwaukee for the division crown in 2024.
The grass wasn’t necessarily greener for him and with three years left on his deal worth about $74 million (which includes the $10 million still owed by the Rockies), the Cardinals are looking to jump ship from the payroll and convince him to waive his no-trade clause. History has a strange way of repeating itself.
The repercussions
Did trading Arenado help the Rockies all that much in the long run? While the team may have saved somewhere in the ballpark of $150 million from the deal, they didn’t exactly turn that money into gold.
Both Trevor Story and Jon Gray walked in free agency after the 2021 season. Trying to salvage face with the fans in 2022, owner Dick Monfort shelled out $182 million for Kris Bryant to serve as a recognizable face and star for the franchise. That deal has blown up in his face as Bryant has been a shell of his former self and limped to just 159 games over the past three seasons due to injuries and lack of production when he even does play. There have also been misguided extensions for players who haven’t performed to the level worthy of them.
The main comparison in the Arenado deal is the playing time of Ryan McMahon. After moving to the hot corner primarily in 2021, McMahon has honestly outplayed Arenado defensively for the past four years, finishing as a Gold Glove finalist each year. However, while their numbers are still close, Arenado has the advantage in the last four years as the better and more consistent hitter across the board.
Since his departure the Rockies have been severely lacking any real star power in their lineup. Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle took massive strides in that department in 2024, but they still haven’t quite reached that elite level of Arenado in his prime days in Colorado. The Rockies are still floundering after the breakup and have a lot of work to do to better themselves for the future.
As the players received have dwindled down to a single left-handed pitcher for the Rockies, the ill-fated trade will still loom over the Rockies for years to come.
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