On Feb. 1, 2021, the Colorado Rockies traded Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals. That deal has gotten even worse in the last 48n hours, if you can believe it.
Jeff Bridich no longer has a job with the Colorado Rockies, or in baseball as far as I know, and one trade was enough to ensure his fate as general manager in Denver.
Just over two years ago, Bridich traded away Nolan Arenado, then a Rockies franchise cornerstone, to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he has continued to put up Hall-of-Fame numbers offensively, and win platinum gloves at third base. Arenado is one of the best players in baseball, and his contract — then considered an albatross by Bridich and the Rockies front office — is a relative bargain compared to last offseason’s free-agent deals.
The deal, regraded by FanSided’s Kevin Henry a few months bad, is so bad. But it was made even worse in the last 48 hours.
Cardinals: Nolan Arenado trade looks even better for St. Louis now
Cardinals Get
3B, Nolan Arenado
Rockies Get
LHP, Austin Gomber
3B, Elehuris Montero
3B, Mateo Gil
RHP, Jake Sommers
RHP Tony Locey was also included in this deal, as he was traded to the Rockies as a fifth player in the move.
For St. Louis, this trade was a home run. Arenado has been everything they could have asked for and more. He will go into Cooperstown, should he continue playing at a similar rate, wearing Cardinal red.
In Colorado, trading Arenado has been nothing less than a disaster. Gomber entered his recent outing against Pittsburgh with an 0-3 record and a 8.16 ERA. Then, he gave up nine earned runs in just two innings pitched against the Pirates. Yikes.
Gil is no longer on the roster, and neither is Locey. Sommers is currently on the minor-league injured list and hasn’t pitched since 2021. Montero, who entered the season with a shot at the third-base job, is now in question as the long-term solution.
This may very well be the worst trade in Rockies franchise history, and St. Louis is the benefactor.