Star third baseman headed to St. Louis for three prospects and cash.
The MLB Hot Stove season continues to sizzle! A busy week was capped off by reports of Nolan Arenado‘s trade to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Going to Colorado will be a package that includes LHP Austin Gomber, INF Elehuris Montero, RHP Tony Locey, INF Mateo Gil and RHP Jake Sommers
The Rockies are also expected to pay approximately $50 million of the remaining $199 million (and six years) left on Arenado’s deal.
The Nolan Arenado trade is official. Rockies send him and about $50 million to St. Louis for LHP Austin Gomber, SS Mateo Gil, RHP Tony Locey, UTIL Elehuris Montero and RHP Jake Sommers.
— Nick Groke (@nickgroke) February 2, 2021
The disgruntled five-time All-Star had long been rumored to be on the trade block. However, both the length and value of his contract presented challenges to getting a deal done.
Arenado is coming off a season that saw him hit a career-low .253 and miss time with a sore A/C joint. He did have perhaps his best season in 2019 when he hit .315 with 41 home runs and 118 RBI.
The two sides are still working out the details that have complicated this transaction from being completed. Arenado will have to waive his no-trade clause and will receive another opt-out opportunity after the 2022 season.
Amazin’ Matz?
The Toronto Blue Jays continued to make headlines by trading for left-handed pitcher Steven Matz. The 29-year old had spent his entire career with the New York Mets.
The Jays sent three prospects, including Sean Reid-Foley, back to New York. Matz struggled in 2020, going 0-5 with a 9.68 ERA over 30.2 innings but was steady in both 2019 and 2018.
Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins shed some light on why the team traded for Steven Matz ⤵.https://t.co/6cPybjfK7k
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 28, 2021
He’ll add depth and experience to a rotation that appears to be thin after ace Hyun-Jin Ryu. Matz also gives the Jays another starting lefty option besides Ryu. Robbie Ray was re-signed back in November and is considered to be in the mix for a starting spot.
Jays Potential Starting 5
- Ryu (L)
- Robbie Ray (L)
- Nate Pearson (R)
- Steven Matz (L)
- Tanner Roark (R)
Having three left-handed pitchers on a starting staff is rare, but that’s how it could look to start out. Slotting Pearson into the third spot seems like a reach but it speaks to the Jays need to get at least one more starter.
Also, Roark was unimpressive last season but is under contract for one more year.
There’s a group of young pitchers who could fill some sort of opener, bulk-bullpen depth roles as well. Ross Stripling, Anthony Kay, Thomas Hatch, Julian Merryweather, and Trent Thornton will look to compete for respective roles in camp.
Pen to Paper
There have been several note-worthy signings in the past few days:
Andrelton Simmons joined the Minnesota Twins on a one-year, $10.5 million deal.
The Detroit Tigers signed catcher Wilson Ramos to a one-year, $2 million contract.
Longtime Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright agreed to come back for perhaps one final season by inking a one-year, $8 million pact.
Waino isn’t going anywhere, Cardinal fans.
— MLB (@MLB) January 29, 2021
St. Louis is reportedly bringing back Adam Wainwright, per @JonHeyman. pic.twitter.com/jSwDXy00OO
The Chicago Cubs essentially replaced one power-hitting, flawed outfielder, Kyle Schwarber with another, Joc Pederson.
The “South Siders” also added to their pitching staff by signing Trevor Williams away from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Catcher Alex Avila and the Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a one-year term.
After bringing back J.T. Realmuto, the Phillies added another pitcher to throw to him, bringing Matt Moore back from Japan on a one-year deal.
Eddie Rosario found a new home in Cleveland.
New Cleveland outfielder Eddie Rosario never met a pitch he couldn’t hit
— The Athletic Cleveland / Columbus (@TheAthleticCLE) February 2, 2021
The team’s newest outfielder swings at — and typically hits — everything thrown his way.
The Indians know that better than anyone, writes @ZackMeisel: https://t.co/bxeJMpTSIa pic.twitter.com/Mxhsnbgdmn
Veteran sinkerballer Darren O’Day has found a new home in the Bronx.
Didi Gregorius is returning to Philadelphia on a two-year $28 million contract.
The Chicago White Sox are bringing back Carlos Rodón on a one-year, $3 million term.
MLB NEWS
First things first. Major League Baseball has proposed pushing the start of Spring Training back by a month and shortening it to 154 games.
The MLBPA has rejected the proposal which also called for an expanded 14-team postseason. The universal designated hitter has already been thrown out as well.
The Major League Baseball Players Association today released the following statement on Players’ commitment to begin the 2021 season on time: pic.twitter.com/WCYtaeVqmH
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) February 2, 2021
This doesn’t look good. If both sides continue to be this stubborn, we’ll all be in for another truncated season.
Thought to be at or near the top of the secondary pitching market, Mashiro Tanaka shocked the baseball world by returning to his native Japan.
NEWS: Masahiro Tanaka has reached agreement with his original club, the Rakuten Eagles of NPB, thus ending his 7-year tenure with the #Yankees. @MLB @MLBNetwork https://t.co/vQ6XddxLrs
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 28, 2021
MLB announced its annual top 100 prospects and Rays shortstop Wander Franco topped the list again. All told, the Rays have eight players on the list! Seattle has six and the Marlins, Tigers and Orioles have five each. The Blue Jays have four prospects on the list.
Ken Griffey Jr. is back in Major League Baseball! The former Mariners and Reds slugger will serve as Senior Adviser to Commissioner Rob Manfred. His role will focus on youth baseball development and improving diversity at amateur levels.
Dustin Pedroia has called it a career after spending his entire 17-year career with the Boston Red Sox.
Notes
The biggest fish left in the pond that is MLB free agency remains Trevor Bauer. He has at least one offer on the table that is known. Jon Heyman has been an entertaining and knowledgeable source on this front.
Jon Heyman on his podcast, Big Time Baseball, talking about Trevor Bauer:
— nmbaseball (@nmbaseball) January 26, 2021
“It does feel like the the Mets and the #Angels might be the most likely.”
“The Angels… they need pitching, so they’re in the mix.”
(He talks about the Angels around the 0:50 mark) pic.twitter.com/IKiRun2o8E
Jon Heyman On Dodgers’ Interest In Trevor Bauer https://t.co/oD2SoGmjVO pic.twitter.com/WWxbIShejR
— Ken from Cumming (@klpackuga88) January 29, 2021
Jon Heyman predicts the Giants will sign Trevor Bauer to a five-year, $150 million contracthttps://t.co/7h0xaTBOLV pic.twitter.com/oycxrnk7Kd
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) November 4, 2020
Mets’ offer to Bauer thought 3-4 years with opt-outs and less than $36M AAV record. Dodgers could have similar type interest but unlikely to go long. Some teams believe Bauer seeks much longer deal, and pitching comps they’ve used are long deals: Cole (324M) and Strasburg (245M).
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 28, 2021
So there you have it. Bauer’s signing is intriguing no matter how you slice it. If he signs with the Mets, it will cap off perhaps the most impressive offseason of any team (save for maybe the Padres).
He would accelerate the Giants development although a clash with Manager Gabe Kapler seems almost inevitable.
Signing with the Angels would vastly improve a rotation that has been a major reason for wasting Mike Trout‘s prime years.
Another Trevor, Rosenthal, is being linked to the Blue Jays.
Report: Blue Jays want more pitching, considering Trevor Rosenthal. https://t.co/8AAvDzy9zn pic.twitter.com/zg8HdCyvCE
— theScore (@theScore) January 29, 2021
Final Thoughts
Arenado
The news of Arenado’s trade was somewhat surprising. Not that it happened, but that St. Louis was involved. They’re not an organization that is known for taking big swings like this. Though, they did acquire Paul Goldschmidt from Arizona in 2018 in similar fashion.
The trade represents a snapshot of two teams going in different directions. The Cardinals, thought by some to be still re-tooling, are now the favorites in a weakened NL Central. They add the best third baseman in the league (and maybe a top five player, period) without giving up any of their top prospects.
For the Rockies, things started going downhill shortly after signing Arenado to an eight-year, $260 million contract prior to the 2019 season. They allowed D.J. Lemahieu to walk, then signed Daniel Murphy to a two-year, $24 million deal (the same amount D.J. signed for with the Yankees). Murphy retired on Friday.
People are ripping the Rockies for the return in this trade but they did the best they could. They wanted financial freedom and the Cardinals will pay about 75-percent of the money remaining on Arenado’s contract.
They also needed to re-stock their farm system. Austin Gomber is expected to compete for a starting spot in the rotation. Elehuris Montero (#8), Tony Locey (19) and Mateo Gill (22) were all among the Cardinals top 30 prospects.
The return should allow for a smoother rebuild. Now all eyes are on star shortstop Trevor Story.
Matz
Critics of the Steven Matz trade should watch this video:
Flip-Flop
I will have my eyes on the Joc Pederson-Kyle Schwarber swap out all season. Will the Cubs actually let him hit against lefties?
The Kid
Love the hiring of Griffey. To me he’ll always be the timeless star with his hat on backward, launching homers in the old Kingdome:
This is what MLB players will look like reporting to Spring training in just over two weeks:
Of course hope springs eternal. So does Wiccaphase, who echoes a sentiment we all feel right about now.
