One of the biggest unanswered questions of the Major League Baseball season is whether or not St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado gets traded.
It seemed more likely than not at the start of the offseason, but Arenado complicated matters by refusing a deal that would have sent him to the Houston Astros. The Boston Red Sox signed Alex Bregman and the New York Yankees seemingly weren’t interested, so Arenado awkwardly remained in St. Louis for Opening Day.
However, some believe the Los Angeles Dodgers could be in play as an Arenado destination, because if anyone is going to be comfortable taking on a significant portion of his contract, it would be the team with the second-highest payroll in the league (and a lot of deferred money not included in their total).
With third baseman Max Muncy struggling mightily to begin the season, one can see the logic behind trading for the eight-time All-Star Arenado–who owns just a 105 OPS+ himself after an ugly start to the week.
On Thursday, Garrett Kerman of ClutchPoints came up with a hypothetical trade proposal: Arenado to the Dodgers, right-handed pitcher Bobby Miller, catcher/outfielder Dalton Rushing, and outfielder Josue De Paula to St. Louis.
“For the Dodgers, this trade is the ultimate win-now move. Arenado’s glove instantly transforms their infield defense, and his bat deepens an already fearsome lineup. With Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, and now Arenado, Los Angeles would boast one of the most intimidating cores in baseball,” Kerman wrote.
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“The cost in prospects and a young arm is steep, but the Dodgers’ depth, both in the rotation and the farm system-makes it a calculated risk worth taking.”
While Kerman’s enthusiasm is commendable, there’s simply no way the Dodgers would do the trade at this specific price. Depending on who you ask, Rushing and De Paula might be the two very best prospects in the entire farm system.
But Miller plus another mid-tier prospect or two, with the Dodgers eating more than half of Arenado’s remaining salary? There’s definitely something to investigate there.
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