Arenado in St. Louis; Didi Back in Philly

Nolan Arenado was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals

The Colorado Rockies lost the best fielding third baseman in baseball who has eight-consecutive gold glove awards. They retained $50 million, but there is $149 million they don’t have to pay for. Great for their bean counters and horrible for the fans.

The Cardinals gave up Auston Gomber, Jake Woodford, Angel Rondon, Luken Baker, and John Torres, with a package like that it’s unclear how many of these prospects will play for the Rockies full-time someday. Many panned the deal because none of these prospects seem like future stars.

Colorado will trade shortstop Trevor Story at some point. It’s inevitable. When that happens, the Rockies are officially in Pittsburgh Pirates territory like so many other franchises in baseball these days. Who needs a salary cap? I can think of a lot of teams that’s for sure.

Rob Manfred’s MLB resembles Bowie Kuhns with the number of teams that won’t be able to compete because they don’t have the payroll. Kuhn ushered in free agency, and now Manfred has teams spending money they can’t sustain until Covid-19 hit, then that slowed down the business model.

Didi Gregorius re-signs in Philly

Didi Gregorius was well-liked and seemed very comfortable playing for the Phillies. There was no doubt in my mind he would be back, and now he is. The Phillies lineup has a lot of pluses, but it still could use a boost, I just don’t know if they’ll spend any more money to make that happen.

We now hear 2021 will be a 156-game season. While that mirrors a more normal year, Covid-19 will still be a factor, and I fully expect some games and some players coming down with the dreaded virus. So the Phillies have a few more weaknesses they need to sure up. They tried to bolster their starting pitching with the addition of Matt Moore. Now 36, and returning from Japan, this is a hail mary that this lefty can give the team any kind of production.

Mets Trade Matz to Toronto

The Mets traded Steven Matz to the Toronto Blue Jays for a package that’s not worth mentioning. Sandy Alderson got three players, but that seems like that was to smooth things over with Mets fans losing a local kid who still has great stuff. Will the five-million-dollar savings mean that Trevor Bauer is coming? That’s not a guarantee. Mets fans are certainly hoping that’s the case but until it happens, I’m remaining cautiously optimistic.

The Cubs Signed Joc Pederson

The Cubs got the slugger for seven million dollars on a one-year deal. He’s a good fielding outfielder, better than Kyle Schwarber

He hits homers just as well, the Cubs got better. They’ve been in a money-saving mode, it’s good to see them adding some talent. Will this initiate a big spending spree for the Cubs? No, it won’t.