Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado is arguably the best third baseman in all of baseball and unarguably one of the best overall players the league has to offer. Arenado holds a WAR of over five for the past five seasons, and in all five of those, he made the All-Star game. He has been a Gold Glover every year he has been in the league and has finished top five in MVP voting the past five season.
Just looking at his 2019 numbers, Arenado hit .315 with 41 home runs and 118 RBI. Any team in baseball would want to have a player like Arenado in their lineup every day.
According to rumors, that may become a possibility. According to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, Arenado is “not happy” with his current situation and said that he feels disrespected after Rockies’ general manager said he would be the team’s starting third baseman in 2020 despite swirling trade rumors.
Nolan Arenado to MLB-dot-com on #Rockies: “There’s a lot of disrespect from people there that I don’t want to be a part of. You can quote that.” https://t.co/fNAoFht0YF
— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) January 21, 2020
As mentioned, any team in MLB would surely love to have Arenado with their franchise. A perennial MVP candidate, Arenado brings consistency with both his bat and his glove. However, not every team in the league has both the fit and the prospects necessary to get a deal done.
It is still yet to be seen if the Rockies will truly trade Arenado. However, with the team struggling last season maybe they hit the reset button. If they do hit that button, these teams make the most logical sense as they both have the prospects to get a deal done and a big hole to fill at third base.
Atlanta Braves
The Braves just missed out on the Josh Donaldson sweepstakes as he decided to bring his bat and weather forecasts to Minnesota. Now, Atlanta is poised to have either Austin Riley or Johan Camargo at third base to start the year.
Riley started hot but tailed off as the year went on, hitting just .226 despite his 18 home runs.
Camargo has served as mostly a utility man for his career. In 2019, Camargo started just 60 games but appeared at seven different positions.
A player like Arenado is exactly what a team like the Braves need. With power bats in Ronald Acuna, Jr. and Freddie Freeman in place, adding the current Rockies third baseman would give them one of the best offenses in the MLB.
According to MLB Pipeline, the Braves have five prospects currently inside the top 100 in all of baseball. Headlined by outfielder Christian Pache, who is ranked 11th, Atlanta has more than enough talent in their farm to get a deal done.
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have been one of the most-linked teams to Arenado. Many publications have speculated that the Cardinals are ready to pay the price that it would take to get the Rockies’ third baseman. St. Louis has no problems putting together blockbuster deals as they landed All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt from the Arizona Diamondbacks prior to the 2019 offseason.
St. Louis has a lot of question marks in their offense right now. Goldschmidt and Paul DeJong are consistent, but veterans Yadier Molina and Dexter Fowler can’t be trusted to boast the massive stat lines of their past careers. Furthermore, young players such as Harrison Bader and Tommy Edman are currently slated for starting roles.
Matt Carpenter is currently projected to play third base in 2020. However, Carpenter can play all over the diamond and could easily be moved. Carpenter has also been named a potential piece that could be traded to Colorado in a deal for Arenado. St. Louis would have no problem fitting in the Red Birds’ lineup.
The Cardinals currently have three players in MLB Pipeline’s top 100, headlined by outfielder Dylan Carlson, who is ranked 24th. Along with players such as Carpenter and pitcher Dakota Hudson, St. Louis has the young talent necessary to acquire Arenado.
Texas Rangers
Texas is a team that has been linked to Arenado in the past. They were known to be interested in Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson in free agency but were unable to sign either. A trade for Arenado would give them the elite level third baseman they are looking for.
After whiffing on Rendon and Donaldson, the Rangers signed Todd Frazier, who is currently slated to open the year as the Rangers’ starting third baseman. Frazier struggled a bit during his time with the Mets, although he did hit .251 with 21 home runs and 67 RBI in 133 games. The Rangers would certainly move Frazier, possibly to first base, if they swung a deal for Arenado.
Adding a player of Arenado’s talent is imperative for a team like the Rangers. They appear to be shooting for the playoffs after trading for Corey Kluber and signing Frazier, Kyle Gibson, and Ribinson Chirinos. Adding Arenado would only legitimize the Rangers’ chances of winning the stacked AL West.
The Rangers have three players currently ranked inside the top 100 on MLB Pipeline. Third baseman Josh Jung is their highest ranking prospect at No. 55. Texas should have enough young talent to get a deal done.
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox have put themselves in a position to win in 2020. They added catcher Yasmani Grandal and designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion to the lineup and Dallas Keuchel to their pitching staff. Furthermore, the team signed prospect Luis Robert to a contract extension, ensuring he will be in the Opening Day lineup.
What would put the South Siders over the edge would be the addition of Arenado. If they added the Rockies’ third baseman, every batter would have the potential to hit for 20-plus home runs.
Currently, Yoan Moncada is projected to play third base. However, he could easily be moved to second, where Leury Garcia is projected to start. Adding Arenado to the Sox’ lineup would arguably give them one of the best in both the American League and the entire league. Chicago has proven they are willing to spend, making the acquisition a no-brainer for the franchise.
Prospect-wise, assuming Robert is with the big-league club, the White Sox still have three prospects inside the top 100. In fact, all three rank within the top 40. Michael Kopech (No. 17), Andrew Vaughn (No. 21) or Nick Madrigal (No. 40) would all function as great starting points in a return package for Arenado.
Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia was one of the teams in on Rendon prior to his signing with the Los Angeles Angels. The team could now turn to Arenado as they look to fill the hot corner.
Scott Kingery, who was a top prospect not too long ago, is currently projected to start 2020 at third. He had his ups and downs in 2019, hitting .258 with 19 home runs, 55 RBI and 15 stolen bases. Kingery could get another chance at third, but he also has experience playing both shortstop and the outfield. If the Phils brought in Arenado, they would be able to use Kingery as a super-utility man.
For Philadelphia, Arenado would give the team another impressive bat in an already impressive lineup. Adding Arenado to the likes of Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, and J.T Realmuto, as well as Andrew McCutchen, Didi Gregorious, and Jean Segura, would give the Phillies one of the more consistently powerful lineups in the MLB.
The Phillies currently have three top prospects in the top 100. Third baseman Alex Bohm and pitcher Spencer Howard are closer to major league ready, which should appeal to the Rockies. Trading Bohm would hurt the Philly Faithful, but they should rest easy knowing they would be getting a bonafide stud at his position.
Honorable Mentions
Los Angeles Dodgers
Would the Rockies really trade Arenado to a division rival? That question is unclear, but the Dodgers have a bounty of top-level prospects and are always looking to add power to their lineup.
New York Yankees
The Yankees have 2019 surprise star Gio Urshela locked in at third base. However, there is no telling if his outstanding 2019 carries over to 2020. New York has more than enough young talent to bring Arenado to the Bronx.
New York Mets
New York’s other team has been embroiled in controversy since former manager Carlos Beltran stepped down from his role following the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal. With that image in the rearview mirror, the Mets could use a third baseman to move Jeff McNeil back to the outfield. Perhaps Brandon Nimmo, whose name has come up in trade talks for Starling Marte, could be of interest.
