Colorado Rockies rumors: Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves

The rumors swirling around the future of Nolan Arenado with the Colorado Rockies have once again fired up, and the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves are once again being mentioned as potential trade partners.

In an article posted to The Athletic (subscription required) on Thursday night, Ken Rosenthal says a trade between the Rockies and Cardinals might be “coming into focus.” The article goes on to say that the belief is that Arenado would waive his no-trade clause in order to head to St. Louis and might push back the opt-out clause (that kicks in after the 2021 campaign) built into the contract he signed before the 2019 season. The contract includes a $199 million guarantee over the next six seasons.

Rosenthal also mentioned in the article a wide range of thoughts he is hearing from league sources about a potential deal involving Arenado, including nothing is imminent to the Rockies seem “motivated” to move him.

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In the article, Rosenthal also mentions that the Braves have “checked in” on Arenado’s availability. However, no progress has been made on that front.

After Rosenthal tweeted out his article, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post tweeted that sources are telling him that a Cardinals-Rockies trade involving Arenado are “not as close” as has been reported. He also confirmed that the Braves are interested in trading for the five-time All-Star and winner of eight Gold Gloves and four Platinum Gloves.

What could a trade package from Atlanta look like? Our friends at TomahawkTake.com took a look before the holidays.

Back on the St. Louis front, Derrick S. Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said a lot about the potential talks between the Rockies and Cardinals in an early-morning tweet on Friday.

Rumors linking the Rockies and Cardinals have gone on for nearly a year now, and with the relationship between Arenado and the Rockies front office still largely unknown after a tumultuous start to last year’s spring training and a financial decision looming regarding the possibility of keeping All-Star shortstop Trevor Story in Denver (his contract is set to expire after this season), Colorado could well be motivated to find a trade partner for Arenado. However, knowing the generational talent that Arenado represents and seeing what teams have received in return for talent such as Francisco Lindor this offseason, a move may not be as easy as in years past. With an uncertain economic climate ahead for Major League Baseball as our society continues to battle an epidemic and large gatherings at Coors Field and other ballparks not likely any time soon, many teams (including the Rockies) have indicated they are going to closely watch their expenses in 2021.

Arenado is also coming off a shortened season marred by a shoulder injury suffered early in the campaign that greatly limited his offensive output. However, recent video showing Arenado swinging seems to indicate he’ll report to camp healthy.

We are keeping an eye on the latest news and rumors and will bring them to you here.