Nolan Arenado is back in purple, for now. He arrived at Salt River late on Saturday afternoon but was more visible yesterday and spent some time with the media. Arenado is typically silent about personal matters when it comes to interviews with the media. His comments that alluded to the feud with the front office were definitely out of character for him, but he stands by what he said.
Jeff Bridich avoided any questions about Arenado with his “No comment. Next question.” remark and Arenado wasn’t going to add any more details when he talked with the media from Salt River.
He did not confirm whether he has asked to be traded. He did think at times over the past two months that he might not be with the Rockies by the time spring started.
Arenado doesn’t hold grudges, and perhaps that’s a good thing for the Rockies and all of us fans. He is ready to play and put the feud behind him and do what he loves — play baseball.
Ultimately, I believe that if he is going to stay in purple, it will come down to how the Rockies perform this year. I know it’s hard to have hope coming off of a quiet winter, but I truly believe that if the team wins, Arenado will stay through the end of the season. He wants to win. If the Rockies can prove they are here to win, he will stay. If the Rockies have a rough season, I think there is a strong chance he’ll be traded. But the deal would have to be right for both him and the team.
Arenado had a message for Rockies fans, too.
“I’m here, I’m ready to go. I’m going to go compete. There’s nothing that has changed. I know a lot of things have been swirling around, but nothing’s changed with me. And I’m going to do the best I can. And I’m going to work hard and help this team win and do the best I can.”
Arenado looking to move past offseason strife | MLB.com
Arenado wants to play baseball, and he’s ready to do just that. He’s not planning to mope about the frustrations and the issues that happened with the front office. He is choosing to be optimistic and be the best player he can be for himself, and his teammates.
Notes: Hilliard’s adjustments; Tapia’s derring-do | MLB.com
Sam Hilliard showed a lot of potential last season. He has speed. He has power. If he can fine tune his hitting, I think Hilliard can be a great asset to the Rockies this season. I’m hoping we can see his abilities shine at spring training, maybe he’ll even with the Abby Greer award this year.
Raimel Tapia struck out a lot last season, but is 17-for-22 on stolen-base attempts in all of his 255 games. He says that he would like to steal 30 bases and really improve on that element of his game.
Brendan Rodgers had shoulder surgery that ended his season early in 2019. The Rockies aren’t expecting him to be at the big league level until May, but we might get to see him a bit at spring training.
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I am so happy to say it — baseball is officially back. The Rockies position players reported yesterday and today is the first full-squad workout. Starting this weekend we’ll see the first of the spring training games and that means that we won’t have another weekend without baseball until the 2020 season ends.
Ready to hit the ground running. pic.twitter.com/fGgSW3M5kM
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) February 17, 2020