Colorado’s left side of the infield has dominated the national league for the past few years. The power sluggers, Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story strike fear into the best opposing pitchers in the majors. On the defensive side Aernado flashing eight gold gloves and Trevor Story has ranked in the top 10 of the league in defensive WAR in four seasons since he entered the league. While flashing their above average gloves, both players have strong arms as well. The two are a menacing combo, combining for over 300 home runs together since Story entered the league in 2016. However, the Rockies are clearly not in a position to be a contender in the NL West and have indicated that they are leaning towards selling and rebuilding. This leads to the question: Will the Rockies’ superstar left side of the field remain together in the future? Aeranado (29 years old) is due 32.5 million through 2026 and Story (28) is set to become a free agent after 2021. The Rockies should look to try and move these pieces and get a valued return for Story and build up their farm system, while dumping a massive salary for Aernado’s contract. Let's look into some possible landing spots for the two superstars and what clubs they could be joining.
Nolan Arenado
The slugging and defensive superstar of a third baseman who in 8 years has a .293 batting average and has slugged 235 home runs, had a sort of a fallout year in the wacky sixty game season. Arenado only hit .256 in 2020, however the four time silver slugger and eight time gold glove award winner should create a buzz in the market since I expect that he will bounce back quite strongly next year. Aeranado is due 32.50 million over the next 6 years. However, the star does have an opt-out clause in his contract which could make some clubs hesitant for the price that the Rockies may be asking in case Aerenado chooses to opt out. I don’t believe there is a reason for him to opt-out though, I would find it hard to believe that Aerandao would expect to get a better deal by testing free agency, so teams should not be as worried about it. The Rockies have already reached out to Mets reporting they want them to start engaging in trade talks. Some other suitors that I could see starting to get in the mix could be the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Braves.
Trevor Story
Now we move on to the premier shortstop. I can see the market bring more involved in trading for the young shortstop with the hopes of a sign and trade. Trevor Story is one of the best power bats in the game especially for playing shortstop. He is slugging .535 since he’s entered the league and is one of the most desired players due to sign a hefty contract in free agency. The likelihood of the Rockies making an effort to try and keep the slugger is quite unlikely due to their indication of being ready to enter a rebuild and would not want to commit a big contract to the superstar. Most competitive teams will be associated with a possible interest in the young shortstop as it would be a likely upgrade.The Blue Jays, Cardinals and Mets are the only current fit that have been mentioned at all, however as soon as it seems that Story is ready to be moved I think we’ll see a surge of teams getting involved with him as well as Lindor. So I predict there will be activity for teams desiring a shortstop and I don't see Story remaining a Rockie in the next few months.
留言