Colorado Rockies: Are the Toronto Blue Jays a fit for Nolan Arenado or Trevor Story?

The Toronto Blue Jays look to be one of a few teams that could spend some money this offseason so could they be a fit for Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado or shortstop Trevor Story?

The Toronto Blue Jays returned to the playoffs in 2020 for the first time since 2016. This time, they made the playoffs largely due to young players that, coincidentally, are the sons of former major leaguers. They include infielder/outfielder Cavan Biggio (son of Hall of Famer Craig), Bo Bichette (son of former Colorado Rockies outfielder Dante Bichette, who is on the Blue Jays coaching staff), Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. (son of Vladimir Sr.) as well as Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. (the brother for current Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel).

However, their main problem was a lack of pitching (4.60 team ERA) but they seem to willing to acquire position players, as their general manager, Ross Atkins, recently said that they wanted to acquire “elite” talent and multiple players as he said that he wanted to acquire “another good player, or two, or three” this offseason.

Even last offseason (when things were obviously much different), MLB.com named the Blue Jays as a possible fit. However, they didn’t think that the Jays were a perfect fit because they didn’t think that the team was a contending team but they made the playoffs (albeit, by playoff expansion, but playoffs nonetheless).

For the Rockies, the Blue Jays are one of a few teams that are a fit for Arenado or Story for a few reasons. They can afford either (or perhaps, even both) long term, they have prospects that they can trade, and they have a ton of young talent at the MLB level.

Some players that the Rockies should look at for a deal to be done (other than the four mentioned above) include:

RHP Nate Pearson (MLB.com’s #6 overall prospect)
SS/OF Austin Martin (MLB.com’s #16 overall prospect)
SS Jordan Groshans (MLB.com’s #70 overall prospect)
RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (MLB.com’s #93 overall prospect)
C Alejandro Kirk (Blue Jays #6 overall prospect, who has already made his MLB debut)

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While all of them (particularly Pearson and Kirk) are fits for the Rockies, I think that Cavan Biggio and Bo Bichette are the best fits for the Rockies.

The Rockies are known for liking to have their players be versatile and Biggio fits that to a T, much like how his father was for the Astros. For the Blue Jays in the last two seasons (majors and minors), he has played all three outfield spots, first, second, and third base. He also has a tie to the Denver area as Rox Pile’s Kevin Larson explained in this article back in October.

For Bichette, he would easily replace Story at shortstop, if the Rockies traded Story and not Arenado. If not, he could play second base (where he has experience as well) and the Rockies could move Ryan McMahon to first base.

The Rockies and Blue Jays are, without a doubt, a fit on paper. Since the Blue Jays are a contender, Arenado would likely waive his no-trade clause to go to them. The biggest question for a trade would be whether or not Arenado would want to gamble on not being in Toronto. In 2020, the Blue Jays played their home slate in Buffalo, New York, the home of their Triple-A team. Would Arenado be fine being in that possible limbo?

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For that reason, Trevor Story may be the better fit for the Blue Jays since the Rockies would not have to get his approval. Either way, the Rockies and the Blue Jays are a good fit for a trade for either one of Arenado and Story but the Rockies will have to get a lot in return for trading the franchise cornerstone(s), the Blue Jays will have to offer a lot in return, and Arenado (if traded) would have to say “yes” so there are still plenty of barriers in the way of a deal.

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