On Tuesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired third baseman Nolan Arenado from the St. Louis Cardinals for right-handed pitcher Jack Martinez. This trade is not a surprise, as the Cardinals are heading in a bad direction while the Diamondbacks needed infield help to compete in the tough NL West division. Who knows, maybe the D-backs bring back another former star to reunite with Arenado in the desert, says Ken Rosenthal.
“Free agent Paul Goldschmidt, a member of the Diamondbacks from 2011 to ‘18 and teammate of Arenado’s with the Cardinals from 2021 to ‘24, continues to loom as a potential fit.”
The San Diego Padres, apparently, were the heaviest of suitors for the star player. According to Rosenthal, the Padres wanted to bring in Arenado to play first base. Arenado has been a rival to the Friars since his rookie season in Denver, so that fit would have been very awkward.
“The San Diego Padres were the team besides the Arizona Diamondbacks that mounted the heaviest pursuit of Nolan Arenado, people briefed on the discussions said. With Manny Machado entrenched at third, the Padres intended Arenado to play first base. The holdup, according to those briefed on the talks, was that the Padres were unwilling to take on as much of Arenado’s salary as the D-Backs. And it’s not as if the D-Backs took on a whole lot – the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to pay $31 million of Arenado’s remaining $42 million over the next two years while receiving minor-league right-hander Jack Martinez in return.”
“The Padres’ payroll concerns are well-documented. Perhaps they only wanted Arenado if they could get him for something close to the minimum salary, enabling them to remain flexible for other pursuits. Arenado, after all, would have been changing positions. And numerous first basemen are still available in free agency.”
