How the 2019 offseason killed the Colorado Rockies-Nolan Arenado relationship

The Colorado Rockies and Nolan Arenado met the media on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the Rockies officially dealt the All-Star third baseman to the St. Louis Cardinals.

It’s clear that the relationship between Arenado and Rockies management has been sour for some time. “Disrespect” was a word used by Arenado just over a year ago, and those feelings had been brewing for some time. Rockies owner Dick Monfort told the media (and general public watching through local television platforms) that Arenado asked for the Rockies to start looking for a trade after the 2019 season. Arenado confirmed in a separate call with Rockies media that the offseason following Colorado’s 71-91 mark was the beginning of the end for him in Denver.

“I wouldn’t say it was one general conversation, but after the ’19 season, we didn’t really make a move and I guess I didn’t know that was part of the plan,” Arenado told Rox Pile and other media members on Tuesday. “I thought there was a different plan, but it is what it is.”

While Arenado was clear on Tuesday that he wasn’t blaming anyone for the situations that led to his trade to St. Louis, it’s also clear that inaction on Colorado’s part eventually led to the face of their franchise being shipped off to a National League rival.

Anything that happened (or didn’t, for that matter) in the offseason following 2019 ties back to the end of the 2018 Colorado Rockies campaign.

The Rockies forced the Los Angeles Dodgers into Game 163 to decide the National League West title, with both teams finishing at 91-71.

On October 1, 2018, at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles recorded a 5-2 win, halting the Rockies from winning their first-ever division title and sending the Rockies to Chicago for the National League Wild Card game to meet the Cubs the next night.

Colorado would win that game and earn an NLDS date with Milwaukee. However, the Brewers swept the Rockies, ending the 2018 season … but hope was high that, with Arenado, Trevor Story, and Charlie Blackmon anchoring the offense and a young rotation progressing, Colorado could possibly knock the Dodgers off their perennial NL West pedestal.

Part of that hope came when the Rockies inked Arenado to a massive deal, a contract that would hopefully keep him in Colorado for years to come. However, part of that deal was the assurance that the Rockies would continue to build around Arenado in a quest to keep their upward trajectory going.

But there was more happening with the Rockies that offseason than just Arenado’s contract.

DJ LeMahieu was signed by the Yankees to a two-year, $24 million deal. Daniel Murphy became Colorado’s biggest free-agent signing, inking a similar contract with the Rockies. While LeMahieu went on to show he was no Coors Field product in New York, finishing fourth in the AL MVP voting, Murphy suffered a finger injury in Colorado’s season-opening series and would miss time with the injury, then struggle once he returned. Colorado GM Jeff Bridich admitted that Murphy may have returned too quickly, not helping the cause at all.

The 2019 season turned out to be a disaster for the Rockies, with Kyle Freeland falling from finishing fourth in NL Cy Young balloting to being demoted to Triple-A and Colorado seemingly never recovering from a four-game home series with the San Diego Padres over Father’s Day weekend when the teams combined to score 92 runs and log 131 hits, both modern-day records for a four-game set.

After 91-72 (including the Game 163 loss) in 2018, the Rockies went 71-91 in 2019. Two days after the season ended, Bridich, team owner Dick Monfort, and manager Bud Black meet with the media and explain how major changes aren’t needed for the team to rebound in 2020.

Major changes don’t happen that offseason, with pitcher Jose Mujica becoming the only free-agent signing. The 24-year-old right-hander would see action in just two games in 2020, registering a 2.769 WHIP, partly with 10 hits surrendered in 4.1 innings pitched.

That same offseason, Arenado’s discontent begins to bubble very publicly. He tells the Denver ABC affiliate that, “Jeff (Bridich) is very disrespectful” and “I can only get crossed so many times.” The Arenado-Bridich spat becomes the early focus of spring training before COVID-19 shuts down camp and forces baseball to temporarily halt.