Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado makes gasp-worthy, headshake-inducing plays in every game at third base.
He also is one of the top hitters in baseball.
(By the way, here’s hoping that Larry Walker’s overdue selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame is a sign that those insisting on Coors Field asterisks will become less influential.)
Last February, Arenado signed an eight-year, $260-million contract extension with the Rockies. It was a gigantic expression of faith and commitment from ownership, including Dick Monfort, who was involved in the negotiations.
Colorado — both the team and state — has embraced Arenado.
Most markets have a similarly beloved pro athlete, and Denver now has a crowded marquee, with the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon, 24; the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, 24; and Arenado, 28. From the Colorado perspective, it would be a shame to see Arenado depart.
He’s earned all that respect. Yes, respect.
If the Rockies had traded him in this offseason, the public reaction would have been explosive and bitter, widening the gulf of uneasiness in the relationship between the Monfort ownership and the fan constituency.
In a ripple effect loop of Arenado communication with Thomas Harding of MLB.com and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, plus additional reporting from Jeff Passan of ESPN.com, the third baseman’s unhappiness with general manager Jeff Bridich was clear.
He told Harding he felt “a lot of disrespect” and told Saunders, “I feel disrespected over there.”
That follows an offseason of trade rumors and what Arenado clearly believes is inertia on the part of Bridich after a thunderously disappointing 71-win season. And Bridich told Saunders, yes, the Rockies listened to teams inquiring about Arenado, but nothing has come of it and are planning to go forward with him still on the roster.
Disrespected?
As great a player as Arenado is, as much as he has delivered on and off the field in the Colorado market, that’s ridiculous.
He’s making an average of $32.5 million under that contract, which includes a possible Arenado opt-out after 2021.
That amounts to the right to pass judgment on the Rockies’ efforts to surround him with an annual contender – or more. That leads to the other issue, which is that most of his teammates wouldn’t be out of line to infer that he’s saying they aren’t up to his standards.
If he doesn’t like what he sees, he can be gone after 2021 – though it likely wouldn’t come to that because he’d be traded if an opt-out seems inevitable.
But even then, Arenado has a full no-trade clause.
He must approve any deal for it to go through. Whether it is on the table tomorrow or next year or …
Disrespected?
Actually, that’s about as respectful as it gets.
Arenado wouldn’t go into specifics about what he meant by “disrespect” and “disrespected,” other than to say there was more to it than the trade talks. But Saunders followed up his original story with a second that outlined a meeting between Bridich and Arenado after the season, saying Arenado lobbied for aggressive off-season moves and Bridich said the Rockies were more inclined to stand pat.
(Actually, I find it hard to believe that Bridich would be that overt, so it’s apparent from which camp the details came.)
Arenado’s personal relationship with Bridich is a separate issue, but not particularly germane to the discussion.
With all the indications of the Rockies’ commitment to Arenado, that trumps virtually everything else.
And what of the trade rumors – or what soon obviously were trade discussions?
Well, too bad.
The baseball fan part of me would have opposed virtually any trade imaginable involving Arenado. You just don’t trade the cornerstone. You just don’t.
Unless …
Unless you have little choice and the deal on the table is staggeringly compelling. And not one of those “prospects” deals in which the “prospects” obtained from, for example, the Cardinals turn out to be washouts or mediocrities.
The very structure of the contract – with Arenado having so much power to walk away and control his destination, whether as a free agent or a player with a no-trade clause – makes it absolutely imperative that the Rockies at least listen.
That’s listen.
Don’t take anything but that sort of ridiculously bountiful offer, albeit judged against the chances of Arenado opting out if the Rockies don’t rebound from the disastrous 2019 season.
The situation is a little different because Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene – now with Nashville — asked to be traded, but GM Joe Sakic patiently waited nearly a year before making a three-team deal that has been a major factor in the Avs’ move back up to the NHL’s elite.
In any sport, the idea that a player is being “disrespected” if a GM considers trading him – or at least listens to offers — is a joke.
The smartest GMs have an automatic, catch-all answer to all questions about possible trades and trade rumors, including about whether a star is on the market. They could offer it to his players, to agents, to media, to ownership, to fans.
To all.
They should say: I’ll do anything that improves this team, and I would be derelict if I don’t listen to everything.
Period.
No disrespect intended.
About Terry: Terry Frei is the author of seven books. His novels are Olympic Affair and The Witch’s Season, and among his five non-fiction works are Horns, Hogs, and Nixon Coming; Third Down and a War to Go; and ’77: Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming of Age. Information is available on his web site, terryfrei.com. His woodypaige.com archive can be found here.
More from The Woody Paige Sports Network:
- Betting Odds To Be Next Monday Night Football Announcers
- Where will Tom Brady play in 2020? Only 4 teams seem realistic
- Jeremy Roenick shares legendary Michael Jordan gambling story
- Woody Paige: Bridich and Monfort did nothing to improve Colorado Rockies in 2020
- Woody Paige: With QB, coach set, here’s how the Denver Broncos should build their 2020 roster
