Could Royals Re-Enter Trade Mix For $260M All-Star? 'Probably Not,' Says MLB Writer
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The Kansas City Royals may not have made any headline news this winter, but they briefly sniffed around the possibility.
In addition to their offer to Anthony Santander and half-second of showing interest in Juan Soto, the Royals reportedly checked in on a trade for St. Louis Cardinals third baseman and 10-time Gold Glover Nolan Arenado.
Unfortunately, the Royals were quickly rebuffed by Arenado himself, which prevented talks from ever getting off the ground. But while both Arenado and Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozielak surely hoped a trade would have happened by now, it simply hasn't materialized.
The Boston Red Sox filled their infield need by signing Alex Bregman. The New York Yankees aren't showing a lick of interest. And though the Houston Astros re-entered the fold last week, the trade talks have gone nowhere after Arenado shut down a trade to Houston back in December.
So with everything at a standstill and the regular season rapidly approaching, is there a world where Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo re-enters the mix for Arenado? One Royals writer, Jake Misener of FanSided, appears highly skeptical still.
"Could the door re-open for the Royals to add another big bat to an already potent offense? Probably not. Arenado seems perfectly content to open the year in St. Louis, regardless of how badly the front office has tried to move him this winter," Misener wrote.
"Even if (Picollo) felt like third base was a black hole (it's not, it's actually one of six positions around the diamond projected for 2.0+ fWAR), Arenado hasn't shown any inclination to approve a trade to Kansas City. This feels like a waiting game, and until Mozeliak figures something out with one of his approved destinations it seems unlikely Arenado is going anywhere."
A lot hinges on the performance of 24-year-old third baseman Maikel Garcia in Kansas City this winter. He can make any thoughts of an Arenado trade seem silly if he proves he can get on base at a reasonable clip.
If not, though, Royals fans will undoubtedly look back wistfully on thoughts of trading for a future Hall of Famer. But you can't bring in a player with a no-trade clause if he has no interest in coming to your team.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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