Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado sat down with Rockies television broadcaster Drew Goodman for a podcast interview, discussing a number of topics, but most notably, reflecting on his departure from the Rockies and how it all unfolded.
“I mean, I think there’s some things I wish I could take back with how it went down,” Arenado said. “Maybe, letting it get public there. That’s one thing I do regret about it. Talking to the media about those things. That’s one thing I guess when I was a little younger and I was frustrated, my emotions got the best of me in that time. That’s the only thing I regret about how it went down.”
Arenado was frustrated at the time and felt disrespected by the front office, Jeff Bridich in particular, and let his feelings be known to various media outlets in town.
To unfortunately refresh the memory of Rockies’ fans, Arenado was sent to St. Louis, along with $50 million and the Rockies received Austin Gomber, along with four middling prospects in return. Experts viewed it as one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history, as Colorado’s return for arguably the top third baseman in the game, was underwhelming to say the least.
Arenado spoke fondly about the 2017 and 2018 seasons, both of which resulted in playoff appearances for the Rockies, including a victory in the Wild Card game in ‘18. He was aware of the team’s success during those two years, but also thought the club never reached their full potential, saying, “I guess the one regret I have is we had a pretty good group. It was kind of fun – me, (Trevor) Story, DJ (LeMahieu), CarGo (Carlos Gonzalez). It was a pretty cool group of players, pretty good ones. So, I wish we would’ve accomplished more, but I also wish we would’ve kept a lot of guys there.”
LeMahieu infamously signed a two-year, $24 million contract with the Yankees, the exact same contract the Rockies handed Daniel Murphy, who did not come close to matching the numbers LeMahieu put up in the Bronx.
Despite the Cardinals unusual struggles this season, Arenado is enjoying a nice campaign, slashing .289/.336/.533 with 25 home runs and 84 RBIs. There were rumors of Arenado being moved at the trade deadline, with the Dodgers as a potential destination, but nothing materialized and the Cardinals elected to keep the eight-time all-star.
In the interview, Arenado also chats with Goodman about what it’s like coming back to Colorado, accomplishing his baseball goals and other memories from his time as a Rockie.
