Denis Poroy/Getty Images. Pictured: Nolan Arenado
For the second time in three years, the St. Louis Cardinals are turning to the NL West to acquire a franchise player.
After years of interest, the Cardinals finally agreed on a deal to acquire five-time All Star Nolan Arenado plus cash in exchange for a handful of insignificant prospects.
According to multiple reports, including Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic late Friday night, the Rockies are pitching in $50 million while failing to get back any of the top-five prospects in the Cardinals’ system. A deal is not expected to be completed on Friday and could take a few days as Arenado sorts through his opt-outs and no-trade clause.
In the betting market, the most significant early move was at BetMGM where St. Louis dropped from 30-1 to win the World Series down to 22-1. Also notable is that the Cardinals jumped the Cincinnati Reds as the betting favorite to win the NL Central. St. Louis moved from +250 to win the division down to +210. The Reds dropped from +225 to +275.
PointsBet moved St. Louis from 35-1 to 30-1 on the World Series oddsboard. FanDuel later dropped the Cardinals from 35-1 to 24-1. DraftKings removed World Series and NL Central odds from the board.
All betting options are available in legal states, including Colorado.
Arenado will join the Cardinals two years after St. Louis acquired Paul Goldschmidt from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Gold Glove winners will now man the corner infield for St. Louis.
Arenado has won the Gold Glove in all eight of his Major League seasons. He’s finished in the top-8 in MVP voting five times. He’s entering his age-30 season.
He leaves behind a Rockies team in disarray to come to a competitive team in a division that lacks a clear frontrunner. The Cardinals were second in the division last year but won 91 games in 2019. They brought back Adam Wainwright on Friday and will likely retain Yadier Molina as well.
Meanwhile, the Cubs traded Yu Darvish, non-tendered Kyle Schwarber, are shopping Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras and have only added Joc Pederson and Zach Davies.
The Pirates have traded just about every major-leaguer on their roster with a pulse making above $1 million, including Jameson Taillon and Joe Musgrove.
The Brewers’ most notable free-agent signing is Daniel Robertson.
The Reds lost Trevor Bauer and Archie Bradley in free agency, traded away Raisel Iglesias and also have key players in trade rumors, such as Sonny Gray and Luis Castillo.
That’s a lot of subtracting, which created this window for the Cardinals to take advantage.
It’s hard to find a window for the Rockies, before or after the trade. Colorado is 150-1 to win the World Series at FanDuel — the worst odds on the board.