Of all the rumors that have hit the hot stove this off-season, the fact that the Colorado Rockies were actively looking to trade franchise icon Nolan Arenado was quite shocking. For the better part of two months, the All-Star third baseman has found his name linked to multiple ballclubs, including the Dodgers.
Now Colorado GM Jeff Bridich has reportedly pulled Arenado off the trade market and that was enough for the long-time Rockie to break his silence on the off-season and his club.
Nolan Arenado to MLB-dot-com on #Rockies: “There’s a lot of disrespect from people there that I don’t want to be a part of. You can quote that.” https://t.co/fNAoFht0YF
— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) January 21, 2020
There’s a lot of disrespect from people there that I don’t want to be a part of. You can quote that.
Arenado made sure to clarify that he’s not upset about the trade rumors, but that “there’s more to it than that.”
Of course, much has been made of the fact that Nolan signed an 8-year contract extension with the Rockies less than 12 months ago only to have the club regress by 20 wins while finishing in 4th in the National League West in 2019.
How could a relationship turn this sour that fast?
Where it gets surprising is how quickly Arenado spoke out after being pulled off the trade market. Earlier in the day, Jeff Bridich made the announcement that the club would be holding onto the 5-time All-Star for the 2020 season.
With the season coming up and spring training on the horizon, we are going to start focusing on that. We have listened to teams regarding Nolan and really nothing has come of it. We are going to move forward pretty much as we expected — with Nolan in the purple and black and as our third baseman.
Moreover, it’s not quite as surprising to hear that Arenado spoke out critically on something. One thing that could be said about the third baseman is that he’s not one to hold punches. He’s a man of passion who lives in the moment.
More importantly, he’s a man that lives to win baseball games.
Therein lies the frustration for Nolan — he wants to win and he’s not sure if the Rockies are fully on board. Last season he faced criticism after stating that the season “feels like a rebuild” and expanded to say the following late last season.
How do I evaluate this team? We’re behind. We’re going to lose close to 90-some games. And that wasn’t the plan when I signed, that wasn’t the goal.
At a time rich with drama for baseball, the start of spring training is surely going to be interesting around the league. And you can quote me on that.
NEXT: Assessing the Dodgers Path to an 8th Straight NL West Crown
