Colorado Rockies: Exploring a Nolan Arenado for Kris Bryant trade

The best third baseman in baseball debate has raged for several years now. In Colorado, this discourse reaching a fever pitch in 2016 when Kris Bryant won National League Most Valuable Player the same season where Nolan Arenado both won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove manning the same position.

But now, with questions about the Chicago Cubs frugality and the Colorado Rockies ability/willingness to pay Arenado long-term, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden floated the idea of an Arenado for Bryant trade which was piggybacked by MLB.com.

Bowden essentially surmised that the likelihood that Bryant begins 2019 anywhere but on the Northside is low but that the right deal could make sense for the Cubs. One of those ideas was from blue pinstripes to purple pinstripes.

"I don’t think that the Cubs’ front office wants to trade Bryant — but I also think they would, if they got the right deal.  When I say “the right deal,” I’m talking either another superstar player coming back or a package of elite prospects who could keep the Cubs contenders for years to come. So where could those types of trades be? … How about the Rockies, who are facing their final year of control of Nolan Arenado? Would they trade him for Bryant, allowing the Cubs to try to extend Arenado instead, while the Rockies would have an extra two years of control of Bryant?"

So what does this look like for the Rockies and would it be a good deal? Could they even do a straight swap of the two superstars? And how does Bryant fit?

Let’s start with why the Rockies would even do this.