Colorado Rockies: The 3 emotions around Nolan Arenado’s tough words

The most common theme I heard from friends and colleagues was despair. That Arenado was leaving the franchise and there was nothing that the Rockies could do about it. That this season of struggles had cemented Arenado’s mind on his future … and it wasn’t in Colorado.

Let’s start by saying that there is no guarantee that this will happen. There is no guarantee that Arenado is so beyond frustrated that he is ready to give up. On the contrary, Colorado coaches and players will tell you there is no one who works harder on his craft than Arenado. If something isn’t going right for the Rockies and he can control it, he will work in the cage or on the field to correct the action.

More from Rox Pile

• A Colorado Rockies Thanksgiving
• Colorado Rockies: What if Todd Helton had played football instead?
• Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon out for the season
• Colorado Rockies: Injuries shift look of roster ahead of Dodgers series
• Colorado Rockies: Has Sean Bouchard earned a second look in 2023?

But what if he can’t correct it because he can’t control it? Arenado can’t control where Bryan Shaw throws his cutter or Jon Gray’s inability to stop a potentially big inning from becoming, in reality, a big inning. That is where Arenado’s frustration lies. He can work as hard as he can to be as good as he can, but when others can’t do their jobs, it sometimes negates what even Arenado can do.

Does this mean Arenado is leaving? No, but a level of frustration has clearly built up. Is this new? Hardly. Think back to Arenado exploding on Nick Hundley in the dugout a couple of years ago. You remember that, right?

Colorado general manager Jeff Bridich still has time to pull some strings and do everything he can to show Arenado he’s committed to winning with his All-Star third baseman manning the hot corner. That needs to start now as the trade deadline draws near.