It’s a day of celebration for the Los Angeles Dodgers anytime a division rival trades away a premier player, and the Nolan Arenado deal is going to have repercussions within the NL West for years to come.
The Colorado Rockies traded Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals Friday, meaning that the Dodgers won’t have to worry about squaring off with Arenado quite as often for the foreseeable future.
There are undoubtedly many fanbases around the league wondering if their team could have gotten Arenado. Although rumors were linking the Dodgers to an Arenado trade, it always seemed somewhat dubious that the Rockies would trade Arenado to a division rival.
Even if the Dodgers were to have offered the best prospect package of any potential trade partner, the Rockies would have had to have been over-the-moon in love with the offer to stomach facing Arenado so often in a division rival’s uniform.
This trade development is an overwhelming win for everyone else in the NL West besides the Rockies. The Dodgers no longer have to worry about facing one of the best players in the league as often, and the Rockies are now significantly worse.
Arenado on the Dodgers would have made the Los Angeles lineup almost unfair for opposing teams, but the Dodgers can take solace in that they didn’t have to give up the types of intriguing prospects Arenado would have cost.
The Dodgers still look like the team to beat in all of baseball, the NL West got that much less intimidating, and the Dodgers don’t have to face Arenado as often anymore.
The Cardinals now look like much more of a legitimate playoff contender in the NL, though, and perhaps Arenado could do damage against the Dodgers come postseason time. That’s a conversation for a later date, however. For now, the rest of the NL West is breathing a collective sigh of relief.
For his career against the Dodgers, Arenado has put up good stats, hitting 28 HRs, 86 RBI, and a .849 OPS in 519 PA.
Getting him out of the division will make it that much easier for the Dodgers to continue this streak of NL West dominance, especially during their intra-division matchups against Colorado.
It’s unclear how the Rockies themselves will proceed after this debacle, and there are some crucial factors up in the air for them.
The rest of the league is now turning towards Trevor Story. It is interesting to ponder how this Arenado trade impacts his future with the Rockies.
Perhaps teams are beginning to flood the Rockies with trade offers for Story, or maybe the Rockies feel as though the Arenado trade now opens up money to retain Story long-term.
Whatever way that saga within the Rockies organization plays out from here, as things currently stand, the rest of NL West can give big thanks to the Rockies for sending a transcendent player out of the division.
The division got that much easier for the other four NL West teams to maneuver through. Arenado is now primarily a concern for the NL Central and not the NL West.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
Now, if we can just convince the Padres to trade Tatis Jr to the Cards, we’ll be in great shape.
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Now that would be cool. But I doubt that will happen. Lots of players starting to be signed.
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I’m getting the same vibes I got last winter before we got Mookie. I just can’t help feeling that AF is going to pull off a trade. It won’t be as big as Mookie but it won’t be a third string catcher either. Let’s see if my powers are still intact.
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Friedman’s gonna need to pull off some kind of clever caper if he wants to clear cap space for Turner. 🙂
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I’m one person who doesn’t think that AF will stay under the limit whatever it takes. Yes, they’d like to avoid a penalty but they’ll go over if circumstances demand it. Or if I demand it. And now I’ve got to get a good righty bat for Tmaxster so I’m demanding it…………………………..unless Andrew finds a way to trade Kelly and/or Kenley and/or Pollock.
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We all hope your powers are still intact. A good right-handed bat for the infield would be great.
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I have felt something like that was very possible the longer the Turner thing drags on.
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I also think there is still a big splash to come from AF and he is not concerned with the luxury tax for one year. I’m glad we didn’t get Arenado, his splits away from Coors and his numbers at Dodger Stadium are less then stellar. I’m not big on Bauer especially if he is wanting 30+ million. He has really only had 1.37 good years (18 & 20) and the rest very mediocre, if not less then. Not seeing Ozuna unless the owners and players union quickly decide the DH for 2021. So it looks like AF will have to go the trade route if he wants (or feels) he needs to match the Padres off season. I’m torked off we didn’t get a closer and now have to rely on a bounce back from KJ, or hope Graterol is ready (or maybe Treinen). If we don’t resign Turner then I could see a trade with the Reds for Suarez. How about something out of left field like a trade for Josh Hader? I got a feeling the Indians will want more then AF is willing to give for Jose Ramirez. I’ll settle for resigning Turner and taking maybe adding Trevor Rosenthal and hope his regular season turn-around with the Padres was for real.
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When you look at his over all performance, Jansen was not that bad. He actually was pretty good, and then had a couple of rough games. He had one bad inning in the World Series, but was undone by a couple of weak hits, and then the comedy of errors at the end of the play. Trienen and Kelly both have been closers, so there is that. Graterol has a low K ratio for a guy with stuff as nasty as his is. Personally, I would keep both Gonsolin and May in starter roles, and use Urias as a closer and lock down guy out of the pen. He did that so well in the series. And do not go to sleep on Morrow. The guy is a beast when healthy, and I am betting he is going to be trying to come back with a vengeance.
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The fact that Roberts didn’t use Jansen in game 5 & 6 of the WS may tell us he has lost trust in him. KJ has certainly earned plenty of rope, but I sure would have liked to have had someone like Brad Hand on board just in case, if for know other reason to have lefty/righty closers. You are right about Graterol and it baffles me how he doesn’t miss more bats. Treinen could be an option for sure if we get the first half of 2020 Treinen and not the 2nd half. No way would I trust Kelly even as a setup guy let alone closer. I think Urias is a lock for the rotation and Gonsolin will be in the bullpen and a nice insurance policy for Price and Kershaw should they get injured. Not to mention WB’s blister issue, which we all hope is behind him. With starters more and more being counted on for only 5 innings the bullpen has become uber important and hopefully Gonsolin can be a shutdown 6th & 7th inning guy. Knebel is interesting as he is another guy who has been an effective closer, but we will have to see how he comes back from Tommy John. I remember how good Morrow can be but for me he joins the “hope and prayer” guys like Pezos and Nelson.
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Word is out that the Brewers are asking a ridiculous price for Hader. I’m a fan of his but I wouldn’t give them the whole farm system for him because his peripherals have been declining over the past couple of years.
I’d just be afraid that if we gave them three of our very top prospects (probably what it would take), he’d pitch a few innings for us and then go down with TJ surgery. On the other hand he’s got three years of control remaining. I think I’d be too chicken to make the deal but if AF does it I would assume he did his homework so I’d be OK with it.
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I’ve heard that too, but I wonder now that the Cardinals look like the clear front runner in the Central if the Brewers will lower their price on Hader? But you are right it would take some stones on AF’s part to pull the trigger.
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Do the Dodgers need more bullpen help? Dodgers re-signed Treinen. Graterol is very young and very inexperienced, he will get much better. Gonsolin is my pick for the bullpen as his splitter is the perfect out pitch for a reliever. Knebel will prove to be a beast and I have a lot of faith that Morrow will make a comeback. Morrow is 2 years older but hardly threw as he had a score of injuries but reportedly now healthy. . The Dodgers coached Morrow back to being dominant once why not again? Last year the bullpen was very good so far they have lost Wood and Baez with McGee still a free agent. The Dodgers have added Knebel, Morrow, Alexander (Healthy finally), Nelson, Stewart, and a bunch of re-hab projects. The biggest gain is Price knocking Gonsolin into the bullpen. Gonzalez established himself. The Dodgers have prospects like White, Gray, Santana ( according to some reports he has some of the best pitch movement on the Farm), and a bunch of others like Knack, etc…
I believe they will bring a bunch of young arms up in 2020 to supplement the bullpen when needed. No need to spend more money on a closer. I have little trust in Jansen. Jansen’s cutter flattens out at critical at-bats and he has lost the velocity he needs to consistently miss bats.
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I’m shocked the Angels are supposedly out on Bauer, and I’m even more shocked that the Dodgers are rumored, to be one of two teams still in the running for him. We don’t need him, but he would be a nice luxury to have. AF is thorough in his job, I knew he would check in on Bauer, but never thought AF would be talking with Bauer this late in the negotiations. I’m not worried about the cap, if AF and Stan Kasten decide to go over this season, they can reset next year if they have to.
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But, we still need a third baseman, Andrew!
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They have Rios, small sample, but the guy has more power than Turner, and his fielding improved a lot. I am comfortable with him at 3rd. The more AB’s this guy gets, the better he will be.
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Can he write one more time that the division got that much easier. Did he have a word count he had to make!🙄
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I’d feel much more comfortable with Rios on the bench backing up both Turner and Muncy. Plus if the owners and union ever get their act together and get this DH thing done then Rios would be a perfect LH option as a DH. We have been blessed over the last few years with a versatile and talented bench and guys like Taylor, Kike, Joc, Freese, and Utley are a big part of the reason we have won all these division titles. But should Lux not turn things around and Taylor ends up the everyday second baseman and we don’t resign Turner then this years bench looks like Lux, McKinstry, Beaty, Peters, and Barnes. That is just too much unknown for me. So signing Turner, plus Lux living up to the hype, would allow us to have Taylor in the Kike role and Rios being the hammer off the bench.
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