Nolan Arenado trade: Assessing Rockies-Cardinals work six months later

Interesting post by Patrick Saunders from The Denver Post talking about several important points this week. Patrick Saunders recently published this and I decided it was a great post for publishing on this website.

It’s been six months since the Nolan Arenado trade rocked the Rockies. The blockbuster hasn’t turned out quite like many expected.

To refresh your memory, after months of rumors and contentious feelings between the star third baseman and former general manager Jeff Bridich, the Rockies traded Arenado — and sent $51 million — to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for big-league left-hander Austin Gomber and four prospects: right-handers Tony Locey and RHP Jake Sommers, along with infielders Mateo Gil and Elehuris Montero.

Here’s how things look six months after the Feb. 1 deal:

Impact on the teams

“Many have heard me say that one of the great things about baseball is that you always have a chance to get better. Today we got better!” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said at the time. “A deal of this nature, acquiring a player of Nolan’s considerable talents, are the ones that can set you apart in many ways.”

But the truth is that the Cardinals, hurt by numerous injuries to their pitchers, have been treading water. They entered Monday’s play 53-52, third in the National League Central and fourth in the NL wild-card race. They’ll have to turn it on just to make the playoffs.

“I truly in my heart believe that this is a very talented team that underperformed the last couple of years,” owner Dick Monfort said on Feb. 2. “I’m not even going to count last year because it was a difficult year, but I think we underperformed.

“I believe we’re shorter on talent than we were a year ago. But we’ve got a lot of guys that, to be quite honest, it’s time to cut bait. This could be the challenge that they need.”

The Rockies have played better of late. After a horrendous start, they went 26-25 in June and July. Still, they are 46-60, 20 1/2 games out of first in the NL West and 14 games out of the wild card. Colorado is on pace to finish 70-92 and a trip to the playoffs looks years away.

Also, Bridich, the architect of the Arenado deal, resigned in late April.

renado’s season

The third baseman continues to wow fans with his play at third, but he’s hardly having a career year at the plate. He’s hitting .264 (career average, .290), with 20 homers (on pace for 31), with a .818 OPS (career, .884).

Arenado’s hitting .326 with runners in scoring position (.323 career) and has driven in 62 runs (on pace for 94).

Gomber’s season

Even the harshest critics of the Arenado trade have to admit that Gomber has exceeded expectations. After a rough start, and despite a bad game on Sunday in San Diego, he’s been a key cog to Colorado’s solid rotation.

Gomber is 8-6 with a 4.40 ERA and a 1.106 WHIP. Before getting lifted after just one inning Sunday (four runs, four hits, two walks), the lefty had been on an exceptional run, going 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA over his previous 10 starts. However, Gomber did miss a month of play because of left forearm tightness.

The prospects

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Montero, 22, is playing third base at Double-A Hartford, and he’s having an excellent season. A promotion to Triple-A could be in his near future and a repeat invitation to spring training looks certain. He’s hitting .286 with a .927 OPS, 20 home runs and 58 RBIs. He’s coming off a tremendous July in which he hit .426 with 12 home runs and 27 RBIs.

The other prospects remain a long way away from the majors.

Gil, 21, is splitting time between second base, third and designated hitter at Low-A Fresno, where he’s hitting .240 with a .651 OPS and five home runs in 66 games.

Sommers, 24, is pitching in relief at High-A Spokane. He’s striking out a lot of hitters (12.9 per nine innings) but also walking too many (3.9). Across 21 innings, he has a 7.29 ERA.

Locey, 23, is 1-0 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP across 18 games (three starts) at Low-A Fresno.