Nolan Arenado: the Padres were serious about bringing him to first base

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Nolan Arenado: the Padres were serious about bringing him to first base
Credit: NESN

On Tuesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks put an end to years of rumors: they acquired Nolan Arenado from St. Louis.

Unless something else changes, the third baseman will spend the next two years of his career in the desert. And it may well be the last club of his career.

The DBacks didn't pay much to pick him up (a distant prospect) and they saw the Cardinals offer them $31m to take the $42m contract over the next two years.

So, basically, it's going to cost the Arizona bosses $11 million over two years ($5.5 million per year) to get Arenado.

This will leave them with enough money to continue looking for reinforcements at other positions… and on this subject, the name of Paul Goldschmidt (a former Diamondbacks player and a friend of Arenado's from their years in St. Louis) continues to circulate in the desert.

Ken Rosenthal, in his paper of the day, slipped in a word.

Speaking of which, The Athletic's reporter also mentioned that the San Diego Padres were the other club that showed the most interest in Nolan Arenado.

It didn't work out, however, because the California club (which has been looking to save money more than anything else since the death of former owner Peter Seidler) wanted St. Louis to keep even more money.

Of course, it's worth mentioning that the Padres already have an excellent third baseman in Manny Machado.

What you need to know is that the Padres wanted Arenado at first base. In the past year, we've learned that the veteran was ready to leave the hot corner if it would facilitate a transaction.

The problem? Arenado doesn't hit well anymore, and he finds his value in his defensive game. To take him away from there and put him in a position where he has a below-average bat is a bit counter-intuitive, isn't it?

But hey. Arenado is now in Arizona and the rest remains hypothetical.

This content was created with the help of AI.

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