Colorado Rockies bold offseason prediction: Nolan Arenado will be traded to the Chicago White Sox

Sports Illustrated’s baseball staff released their bold predictions for this offseason and one of them had a bold prediction about Colorado Rockies’ third baseman Arenado being traded to the Chicago White Sox.

Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado isn’t sure of his future with the team as he expressed that on ESPN on Tuesday and he has expressed it in the past.

With his opt-out clause looming and the Rockies, at least on paper, being far away from being a playoff contender, the Rockies could definitely trade Arenado this offseason.

If the Rockies do decide to trade him, they will almost certainly look to trade him outside of the NL West and to a team that can give them both high-level prospects and MLB-ready players so that the Rockies could help replenish their team at the major league level as well as their depth, which has also been a big problem for the Rockies for a long time.

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One of the teams that can fulfill that if they wish to is the Chicago White Sox. Conor Grossman of Sports Illustrated had his “bold prediction” for the offseason as this: The Colorado Rockies trading Arenado to the White Sox. You can read more on his bold prediction and the other bold predictions for the SI staff here.

The White Sox are obviously in contention as they were a playoff team in 2020 and if not for a late-season skid in the last week, they could have had the best record in the AL. They also fired their manager Rick Renteria to hire a manager who has proven experience of winning in the postseason. The man they hired definitely fits that bill: Three-time World Series champion, Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa.

The White Sox have five prospects in MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects and four of the five (numbers 2-5) have already made their MLB debut. The White Sox current everyday third baseman, Yoan Moncada, can also play shortstop and second base. Currently, the White Sox everyday second baseman is Nick Madrigal, who just happens to be the White Sox #3 prospect (#36 overall).

If the Rockies were to acquire Madrigal in a trade, the Rockies could move Ryan McMahon over to first base or third base to replace Daniel Murphy or Arenado.

The fit is there for the teams but we’ll have to see if the clubs decide to come together for a trade.