The Nolan Arenado trade rumors won’t stop any time soon

Will Nolan Arenado be the straw that breaks Jeff Bridich’s back? | The Denver Post ($)

Nolan Arenado’s deal being signed in February meant the Rockies were proving they wanted to be contenders, right? It was the hype of the Rockies off-season and it left the feeling of good-will amongst many fans of the team. It brought excitement to the 2019 season, something that quickly diminished when the team’s records was 3-12 by mid-April. Arenado’s contract is now being looked at as a large chunk of money on the team’s payroll. The Rockies currently have the 6th largest payroll in the National League, and while Arenado’s contract contributes, there are other contracts that are also a huge factor. I think of Ian Desmond, Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw, Daniel Murphy and even Charlie Blackmon’s extension.

The Rockies have spent a lot of money on a bullpen that just hasn’t proved it’s worth. They spent money on two different guys at first base that just haven’t contributed much. Jeff Bridich and Dick Monfort have said over and over again this off-season that they just don’t have extra money to spend for the 2020 season, so the plan is to just... well... fix what’s broken. If that’s even possible.

“I think we feel like we have a lot of bodies in our bullpen mix and we have a lot of talented people,” the Rockies GM told reporters in San Diego. “Some of those talented people need to do their jobs.”

I do appreciate that they signed Scott Oberg to an extension. I am a giant fan of Charlie Blackmon, even though he’s aging. So will Arenado and his large contract be the tipping point for Bridich?

I don’t expect the Arenado trade rumors to quiet down anytime soon. Arenado is one of the few players the Rockies have that would be worth anything when talking trades, but it all comes down two things (at least in my head.) Is Bridich entertaining these offers to lessen the payroll? Would Arenado even be willing to discuss trades? The latter comes to mind because of the no-trade clause in his contract, ultimately even if Bridich wanted to trade away the best third baseman in the league, Arenado has the final say.

The Baseball 100: No. 96, Larry Walker | The Athletic ($)

The Athletic is counting down baseball’s 100 greatest players. Landing at number 96 is the only and only Larry Walker.

Walker is most-often underrated in discussions because of injuries, playing at Coors Field (insert eye roll) and that he mostly played on teams that don’t garner a lot of recognition.

My favorite line in this article is this:

People who do famous things tend to be overrated, while people who are simply good day after day tend to be underrated.

Walker was good day after day.

This Dodgers-Rockies Trade for Nolan Arenado Could Actually Work | 12up

All I’m saying about this is... NOPE.

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If you’re looking for some [weird] holiday fun, the Rockies social media team is hosting a white elephant gift exchange with other MLB teams today. Below is the video that announced it all, but if you follow the Rockies on Twitter, they’ve already announced the rules, order, and time of the gift exchange. I love silly things like this, so I’ll be sitting on Twitter following along - the shenanigans start at 1 p.m. ET.