Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado might just be the quietest superstar in all of Major League Baseball. At age 28, he’s already benn a five-time All-Star, seven time Gold Glove Award winner, led the National League in home runs three times and in RBIs twice.
Arenado is currently being shopped around by the Rockies who are looking to cash in their top chip to rebuild their roster.
That being said, Arenado, although an infielder, would be the perfect compliment for the Mets to match with Pete Alonso, their stud first baseman. But, don’t get your hopes up. A del with the Mets is the longest of long shots at the moment.
Arenado is signed to a megadeal through the 2026 season, but has an opt-out after the 2021 season. It’s fair to believe that any acquiring team would want that opt-out waived before sending key pieces to Colorado in exchange.
When it comes to the Mets specifically, what Arenado will earn in 2020 could be an issue since they’re already bumping up close to the $208 million luxury tax threshold. That should change after the 2020 season, when a bunch of high-priced players come off the books.
Arenado has seven years and $234 million remaining on his contract which includes an opt out after the 2021 season, but as Danny mentioned, the Mets don’t have the financial bandwidth at the moment to to take that contact on without getting slammed for eclipsing the tax threshold.
And what would it take to pry him away from the Rockies? Think young and cheap. The Rockies might want Alonso and/or Jeff McNeil or Michael Conforto plus a pitcher. Noah Syndergaard is still under control for two more seasons. Then there would be the prospects and that could include one or more of the following: SS Ronny Mauricio, SS Andres Gimenez, RHP Matthew Allan and 3B Brett Baty.