According to Jon Heyman, the Colorado Rockies are willing to listen to trade inquiries on superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado. Yes, this is Jon Heyman, but according to Jon Morosi, this rumor was also confirmed.
MLB.com immediately took to this, and listed the Phillies as potential suitors for the 28-year-old right handed bat. Due to the Arenado’s (once) historic eight year, $260,000,000 contract, this would obviously put the Phillies way over the tax threshold. But seriously, why shouldn’t they?
Arenado Over the Years
Nolan Arenado took the league by storm when he entered in 2013. His rookie year, he bat .267 with 52 RBI, where he finished seventh in the Rookie of the Year voting.
However, he only got better from there. Since 2015, Nolan has a batting average of .300 on the dot. In 2015 and 2016, he led the league in RBI, with 130 and 133, respectively. He also led the National League in home runs those years, with 42 and 41, respectively. Over the last five seasons (all of them All-Star earning), Arenado has averaged 40 homers and 124 RBI.
In 2019, Arenado set a career high with a .315 batting average and 41 home runs, tied for seventh in both categories for the entire MLB. He was tied for ninth with 185 hits in 155 games played. His 129 runs created was also top-ten in the entire league. Arenado’s ability to move runners both by getting on base or
As for his defense, we’ll leave it at this. Nolan Arenado has earned a Golden Glove in every season he has been in the MLB. That is seven total Golden Gloves for the third base phenom. His major league best 337 assists and 43 double plays turned by third baseman in 2019 serves as a prime example of why.
Is He a Fit on the Phillies?
Uh, yeah.
It’s funny to see how the Phillies are in the mix for literally every top player on the market. Whether it be by free agency or trade, Philadelphia always works their way into the discussion.
With that in mind, the Phillies should 100% pursue Arenado. They should do so arguably more than their push for Josh Donaldson or Kris Bryant.
After letting Maikel Franco and Cesar Hernandez go, the Phillies are obviously looking to upgrade their infield. The guys in the dirt committed an error basically in every two out of three games.
By adding Arenado, or maybe even Kris Bryant, the Phillies would have a prolific third baseman and right fielder for nearly the next decade. Arenado should be at the top of their list, as he would bring a power bat to the clean up spot, as well as serving as a clear upgrade defensively.
Potential Packages
Yes, his monster contract would push Philadelphia over the luxury tax.
Yes, this should not matter and they should makes moves to win the World Series.
The Phillies could actually make this move, and stay under the tax, however. By moving big contracts in Robertson, Segura and Bruce, it would bring them below the threshold.
The trade:
David Robertson, Jay Bruce, Alec Bohm, and Adonis Medina for Nolan Arenado and maybe, the Rockies retain some of his contract. But not very likely.
Because the Rockies have Trevor Story, a top notch shortstop already, Segura could be flipped to another team for a pitcher. After the Phillies signing of Didi Gregorius, it may be time to let Scott Kingery play his natural second base position, Didi at short, and Bryant or Arenado at third.
Of course, if the Rockies wanted Hoskins or Segura, they could be valuable pieces as well. In this case, Bohm could be kept and moved to first, as the other two have already proven themselves to be MLB caliber players.
General Manager Matt Klentak may be the only person holding this back. A couple of months ago, Klentak mentioned that he views Bohm as a contributor in 2020, which shows the organization’s faith in Bohm as a third baseman.
Who cares about what Klentak says, though. This offer should be thrown out to the Rockies, and see what they say. For the sake of the city of Philadelphia, please make an infielder and pitching move already, Matt.
Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
