On February 1st, the MLB showed why even in the offseason there can be reasons to celebrate or cry over your favorite team. The Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals finalized a trade to send five-time All-Star third-basemen Nolan Arenado to the Gateway City in exchange for several minor league players. This exchange of assets came as a shock to the baseball world in many ways.
Arenado played his first eight seasons in the big leagues in the Mile High Stadium. From the first step he took on the field, he never looked back. His debut started with a home run, double, and a replay-worthy defensive effort. His career also includes eight gold-glove awards (and yes, that means every year he has been a pro) and four silver slugger awards. The first chapter of Arenado’s career already has the trophy shelf stacked, but he will begin his next one with the Cardinals. As for the Rockies, there are no accolades to mention about any of the minor leaguers they acquired, although it may be said baseball is the best sport for player development. So Colorado’s yield from the trade is a work in progress.
If there are two things certain for practically all fans involved, it is that Cardinal nation is ecstatic and Denver is down in the dumps. It doesn’t take too much baseball knowledge to see the lopsidedness of this trade in favor of the red birds. Arenado is a player that is highly regarded as the best third-basemen in all of baseball and usually finds himself in subtle talks with the Most Valuable Player award. None of this can be said for what the Rockies acquired from St. Louis, as they all combined have a fraction of MLB experience as the third-base stud.
Logan Garrick, a Cardinals superfan from birth, couldn’t be happier about how his team looks now. This addition in his eyes, and many similar-minded fans, is that this one move— for what they got, and what they gave away—has made the team, “… a clear favorite to win the central [division] and really compete in the playoffs”. Garrick has been watching his beloved Cardinals all of his life. As he is now going through college, he is more than excited about what his future looks like as a loyal fan. “If Arenado truly will stay with the cardinals like he says he will he’s going to be the cornerstone of the franchise”.
While it is good that people profited and prospered from this blockbuster, there are always people who received the short end of the stick. For the Rockies, it was a blow to the heart and soul of the franchise. The generational talent leaving Denver did not make fans happy and they’re now questioning the management of this team and their intentions. Arenado had a shaky relationship with the Colorado General Manager, and that connection did not rekindle but rather ended with them parting ways. Fans everywhere are destroyed and frustrated at the same time. Larry Larsen, a 21-year season ticket holder for the Rockies, expressed frustrated emotions as a loyal member of the organization. He said the trade news was, “Very disheartening as a ticket holder”. Larsen was especially frustrated with how the management of the organization handled a generational talent. He mentioned that Rockies General Manager Jeff Bridich, “… had no right to make this guy mad”. The long-time Rockies fan has just recently let go of his season tickets, and he is afraid that this move the team made may begin a tailspin for the organization.
While the face value of what happened for these organizations is night and day, it all comes down to what is best for the player. Although he is leaving a legacy behind with thousands of fans in Denver, Arenado looks to improve as a player and become a true contender for a ring in St. Louis.
