ARENADO ADDED BY THE CARDINALS!
The St. Louis Cardinals acquired third baseman Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies for pitchers Austin Gomber, Tony Locey and Jake Sommers, and infielders Elehuris Montero and Mateo Gil.
What does it give the St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are clearly going for it with this move. Wow! Arenado becomes the second star corner infielder acquired by St. Louis in three years (after picking up 1B Paul Goldschmidt in similar fashion in 2018). Arenado should bat in the middle of the Cards batting order and provide quality defense at the hot corner. His arrival probably relegates veteran Matt Carpenter to the bench.
What does it give the Colorado Rockies
The Rockies managed to add five prospects in this deal, so not all is lost for Colorado. Gomber is a good, young lefty who should become a fixture in the rotation in Denver. Montero can play third base, so he is a candidate to compete with fellow prospect Colton Welker for Arenado's old job. Locey, Gil and Sommers are all long-range prospects with varying degrees of upside. Gomber and Montero are the keys to the deal.
Fantasy impact
Arenado may see his fantasy value dip slightly because of the move away from Coors Field for half of his games. That said, he remains one of the best fantasy third basemen available, and a solid keeper in most league formats. Montero and/or Welker could wind up as the clear winners after this trade, provided one of them is able to win the third base job out of spring training with the Rockies this year. Gomber is talented, but be careful of the Coors Field factor with him. For now, Locey, Gil and Sommers do not need to be drafted in any keeper format.
