The Colorado Rockies turned heads on Wednesday when they came to terms with veteran outfielder Kris Bryant on a seven-year, $182 million deal. The signing surprised many, including St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado.

“They must see something going on with their team and think they can compete,” Arenado said at Cardinals spring training on Thursday.

Arenado further noted he well recognizes there is a different regime in place now compared to his latter years with the Rockies. Now-former Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich opted to trade the veteran infielder to the Cardinals ahead of the 2021 season. A mere months later, Bill Schmidt was named as interim general manager for the team following Bridich’s resignation. The Rockies later decided to keep Schmidt as their general manager.

The Rockies have made multiple notable moves over the past year that have simply left fans asking questions. For one, when they traded away Arenado, the move signaled to many that a full rebuild phase would be on the horizon. However, they elected not to trade the likes of Jon Gray and Trevor Story ahead of last year’s MLB trade deadline. Schmidt noted after the trade deadline that the team much covets compensatory MLB draft picks.

In the big picture, Arenado is at the least pleased to see that the Cardinals will not have to deal with Bryant for 19 games in the regular season.

“I'm glad he's not in our division anymore,” Arenado said.

Whether it was with the Chicago Cubs or the San Francisco Giants, Bryant did not necessarily have his way against the Cardinals last season. The veteran right-handed hitter did not record a home run and posted a .233 batting average in 11 such regular season contests. Nonetheless, he has had standout moments over the course of his career against the Cardinals.

Bryant will now be joining a Rockies lineup that features stout hitters across the board, from Charlie Blackmon to C.J. Cron. More so, he has notched a career .263 batting average at Coors Field.

It sure remains to be seen on whether Schmidt aims to make any more notable moves ahead of the upcoming 2022 campaign.