Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - One Big Problem With The Latest Arenado Rumor

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

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The Nolan Ranaanaanaanaanao continues continue to swirl. And now another team is being mentioned as a possible fit. But there is one problem with this particular team. We're going to discuss it today on Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network. Your team every day.

Hey there, Cardinals. I'm Jady Haffert and I am your host for Locked on Cardinals, part of the Lockdown podcast network covering your team every day. day. Follow me on Twitter X at JD Sports Radio with the podcast at L.O. underscore Cardinals. I want to make those of you who make Locked on Cardinals your first listen every day. We're free and available wherever you get your podcast. We're also available on YouTube. We're free there as well. Stop on by. Like, subscribe. If you enjoy hearing Cardinals content, this is the place to be because it is a show serving Cardinal Nation and giving the best fans in

baseball, all of the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode brought to you by game time download the game time app create an account and use the code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase all right stop me if you've heard this one before here we go stop me if you've heard this one before the cardinals i know lean in the cardinals are trying to trade no one are not i don't know if you've heard this i don't know if you're aware of this rumor but they're trying to trade them it's happening it's a tale is all this time at least it feels like it because it's We've been discussing trade scenarios for Nolan for quite some time now. It's been a bit.

And so far we've seen Bupkis really done. And I'm not blaming anyone here. Well, I am going to blame somebody. I'm going to blame Alex Breggman and the Alex Breggman camp. That's what's going on. That's what we're waiting on. Because until he tells everyone that he's signing with so-and-so and that he's not going to these other places,

we're kind of stuck here. We're kind of stuck here in limbo. This Aronado stuff, it's just going to keep just floating around, which is like the worst place to be, right? You know, I think we're all a bit sick and tired of having to hear about it and talk about it. We just want to know who's staying, who's going,

and if Aronado is one of those people that is going to be on the move, then we want to rip that Band-Aid off and get it over with and move on with our lives because I would guess that 99.9% of Cardinals Nation loves Nolan Aronado as a person, loves him as a player, realizes this is probably happening, and we just want to get it over with. We don't want to sit here and dwell on it, do we? The latest rumor to be brought up is that the Houston Astros are a serious suitor for Nato, that according to the athletics, Chandler Rome.

And, you know, it's good news when there's more. more teams who are interested in him. Like, that's good news for the Cardinals. Another team in the mix, one that I brought up on numerous occasions here on the show, despite that there hadn't been much of a rumor about him going to Houston, really. But it just seemed like a good fit. It looked like a spot he could do well. And you know, those Crawford boxes, only 315 feet away from home play while in St. Louis.

We're talking 336 to left field. I mean, how many fly balls have we seen come off the bat of Nolan, Aronado and a lot of guys, both on the Cardinals and on other teams that just die at the track there in left field over at Bush Stadium. Plenty. Plenty. It's not an easy place to hit home runs at. And most people suspected that no one's power numbers would go down, going to St. Louis and leaving the comfortable confines of one course field. For a couple years, he seemed fine.

But the last couple years have been a little bit difficult for him. There is one problem with this Houston Astros rumor. So here's the latest. Rome writes that no deal is imminent, but talks between the two clubs have picked up since the week's winter meetings. Aronado has a full no trade clause, and it's unclear if he would waive it to go to Houston. Reports we got was that there was a list of six clubs

that Nolan Arnado was willing to accept the trade to. Houston Astros were not on that list. A source told MLB.com's John Denton that the Dodgers, Padres, Angels, Phillies, Mets, and Red Sox were the six teams that he was interested in waving his no trade clause to facilitate a trade to go to. Houston not on that list, which was a little bit surprising to me. But hey, if he doesn't want to live in Houston, he doesn't want to live in Houston. 33 years old.

He's owed $74 million across the next three years. That's part of the reason why some people might balk at it. Like, well, if he's trending in the wrong way, why would we want to take on that salary? The Astros did make a trade with the Cubs, acquiring third baseman East Sock Parades as part of the package for Kyle Tucker, who is now a Chicago Cup. But Houston is going to need help at both spots if Alex Bregman doesn't come back. All right.

If Bregman's no longer their third baseman, he'll have an opening at first or third, whichever spot Parades is going to play. So you can play both. Aronado obviously has said, I am open to playing at first base, if that'll help things out with the trade. But clearly I would assume

he'd want to play third base the rest of his career. And I don't know why he'd want to move him. He was in the finalist for a gold glove again this year. It's not like he's stinky down there or something. So, I mean, that would be a nice little corner combination there. Issaq Karadis, Nolan Aronado, both major pull hitters, that would, you know, have some fun with those Crawford boxes. So it makes a lot of sense for that type of deal to happen.

But if he doesn't want to go to Houston, then this isn't going to go down. Again, Bregman's got to make his decision. Bregman is where we're kind of stuck at. Apparently, the Houston's still thinking about it. Even if they keep them, they can move parades over to first base. So that's not a big deal. But apparently the Yankees and the Red Sox are in on Alex Bregman as well. Those are some good fits.

MLB Network insider John Paul Morosi said on Friday, Yankees Red Sox. And then Ari Alexander at KPRC in Houston reported on Friday that the Mets and Tigers are also in the mix. So, and we know the Mets are not afraid of spending a little money if they got outbid somebody to get somebody like Alex Bredman. Now, for usual, here we are waiting patiently, always, always patience, always patience as Cardinals fans, as we have been the entire offseason for, you know, something, anything to happen, really involving the Cardinals. All we've talked about is people that we didn't bring back that we didn't sign, Goldschmidt, Kyle Gibson, Lance Lent. You know, there's guys that are free agents now. So that's really all that's happened with the Cardinals so far, which is a bit annoying. But as I've said before, the Cardinals players that are available through trades aren't the cream of the crop.

Like if Sunny Gray had said, yes, I'm cool, trade me. That would be a big deal. You know, people would be talking about that. Well, Scintreras, if he had said, yeah, get me out of here, that would have been a big deal. But those guys said, no, I don't want to. I like St. Louis. like the Cardinals. I like the fans. I'm gonna stick around. So that kind of took some of the fun away from what the winter meetings were going to offer for for the Cardinals. So those guys are

staying. Aronado clearly is going to be on the move at some point or another. I just really don't see how he could ever just come back after all of this. So but again, the bigger Domino's have got to fall first before anything will get done with Aronado. You know, there has to be some finality with the Bregman situation before our people, you know, turn their attention to remaining third basement like Nolan Aronado, you know, I haven't heard much about Eric Fetty being talked about. So it just seems like unless the Cardinals get blown away by something that they're going to hang on to him for a row. But if anything drops, obviously, we'll have you covered on X and on our YouTube channel

for you. So make sure you're paying attention. But I mentioned fans are getting a little bit impatient, right? little impatient involving the Cardinals and their lack of moves so far. So we're going to do some fan feedback for you. That's coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. Get ready to tackle the NFL action with Fandul America's number one sportsbook because right now new customers can bet $5 and get $150 and bonus bets if you win.

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You can leave your comments on YouTube as well as on Twitter X anytime you want feedback. Always welcome and encourage. It is time for a fan feedback segment because we've had a lot of episodes recently, a lot of opinions being tossed around. And there are a few questions that people have continuously brought up to me. And I thought we'd rummaged through a couple of these here. We've got a lot to sip through. So the Aronado topic is the one that most people are talking about because it's the one name that the Cardinals have.

that other people kind of want. You know, there might be some guys on the roster that are people like, yeah, you know, they're all right. But Nato's the guy. He's the name. He's the future Hall of Famer. And he's what everybody wants to talk about. So, Mimmy Moose, what a name, right?

So Nolan has been my favorite player for a very long time. It was extremely excited when he put on the card uniform. Unfortunately, the reality is he is getting older. Hitting has a panned out for Eminem and Bush, or his defense is still very high. quality, but being one for 12 in the postseason is not a good stat line to have when you get paid that much money. I'll still love the Cardinals if he's not one.

Just hope they don't give him up for packing peanuts. First off, again, love the name. My father-in-law, quick story, calls our dog, me and my wife's dog. Her name is Minnie, by the way. She's this 10, well, depending on what time of year. She's between 10 and 12 pounds. She's a little dachshund. Super cute.

very small. So father-in-law calls her mini-moose all the time. So what it reminded me of you. Anyway, as far as trading Aranaana for packing peanuts, that's the real trick here, right? And that's why John Mosea Locke and Heinbloom and people in their situations, you pay the big bucks because they're the ones you got to figure out these deals. Like I said, when you think about Nolan Aranada, what do you think about?

You think about All of Fame, third baseman, right? you know, MVP type of guy, one of the greatest defending third baseman of all time. But is he that guy anymore? And then you think about the contract, which we brought up where it's three years and 74 million, which is still available out there, or not I shouldn't say available, but still owed to Aronado. Excuse me. The Rockies are paying part of his contract. The Cardinals will obviously pick up part of the tab as well to whichever team is.

is interested in him, but you would think teams would be jumping at the chance to get their hands on him at this discounted raid. You know, we're talking about a guy who two years ago was top three in the MVP voting, but so was Paul Goldschmidt. And you're seeing what the market is for him right now. It's not exactly prospering. But again, until Alex Bregman makes a move and signs, teams who would like to get a third base when are upgraded their third base position, And we won't know how desperate they are until Bregman is out of the picture. It's kind of like with Juan Soto.

The starting pitching market hadn't moved a ton. You know, Blake Snow clearly wanted to be a Dodger. So he just signed him. Like, I'm not waiting on these people. But we had to wait for Juan Soto to go down before other things started happening. And if Bregman signs with the team and, you know, some of these other teams that are out there that don't land them, we'll see how desperate they get, you know,

how bad will they want an upgrade? Is Nolan Aronado somebody that, you know, would be enough of an upgrade for for them at this point of this career? He's also got that no trade clause, which limits where no one will go now and in the future. You know, that could be another reason why people might stay away where if it doesn't work out at this new spot, Nato will have a say once again in where he gets traded to. So I'm just, You know, when I look at that list, I'm still shot that the Yankees weren't on there, that the Mets are, but the Yankees aren't. And, you know, obviously the Angels was a strange one. But, you know, I think most of the guys on there made sense, though, like, you know, the Red Sox, they make sense.

They'd have to move some things around, but they make sense. Phillies, if they truly are done with Alec Baldwin are ready to move on, it makes a lot of sense for the Philadelphia Phillies to want somebody like a Nolan Aronado to join, you know, those big names that are in Philadelphia behind. Bryce Harper. The Astros, we just talked about it. Astros had spots at first and third if Regman's not going to come back. So if you get parades over to the first base, you get Nato with third base, you got two pole fitters, cropper boxes. Yay, right? If you're a Houston guy. Because the thing that cracks me up is like, you know, people will talk about the money aspect of it. And I'm like, you're not like as a fan. You're not paying them. What do you care? What do you care?

You know, it's if he's a fit and he makes sense to make your team better, there you go. And I know Nata wants to go somewhere where the future is bright, which was again, why the Angels thing was weird. But, you know, Houston's still good. It's not like there. There's some scrub team over there. They got a pretty decent lineup. So I was a little surprised they weren't on the list as well. But waiting game.

That's where we're at, unfortunately. Something we've got to play right now. All right, Charlie asked if Nato does get traded, who do you think becomes the everyday third baseman? Honestly, I'm going to go with Nolan Gorman. And every dares know that I have been a Gorman proponent for quite some time, for quite a while. Through thick and thin, I've been ride or die with Nolan Gorman. And last year, for a little while, for a little while, admit it, I kind of looked like a genius, didn't I? Nolan Gorman was mashing the ball, power numbers were up, strikeout numbers were

down, he was RBI's. He was having this great first half of the season and it looked like he'd figured some stuff out. And then he goes, Antarctica cold can't even put the ball in play. And the season becomes a wash. Now he looks like an absolute bust in a lot of people's eyes. And I just don't think I'm ready to give up on it. I think Gorman over at third base makes sense. Get Gorman at third, when it short, Brennan, Donovan at second and then Contreras said first. And then could certainly play third base as well. So maybe he gets the first crack at it.

That's a possibility. I know we want to see Thomas and Jacey play. You know, obviously if he's going to be a productive part of this lineup moving forward, he's got to get on the field to do that. But it just seems like, you know, everybody else that's on the infield already has seniority over, like you're not going to switch things around for Thomas and Jacey at this point. I don't think they would. But arm wise, Nolan Gorman's got a very good arm over at third base, which is one of the reasons why I would choose to start him there over Brennan Donovan, who obviously has been fantastic over at second base.

Some have suggested maybe Jordan Walker go back to third base. And I mean, you might want to throw eggs and tomatoes at me for this one too. But I'm still not punting on him as an outfielder yet. I want to give him at least one more year here. And if things aren't a ton better by, say, the All-Star break, like if he's still running around the outfield, then they have a clue, then pull the plug. I get it.

But I'm still going to give him some more time. These are young guys. And he hasn't been playing that position very long. And I, at least my eye test tells me he looked better in right field this year than he did the first year doing it. So I'm willing to give him, a little bit longer leash right now and see if he does make improvements. And if he doesn't, maybe it is third base in his future or maybe it is first base. You know, I mean, he's a big dude over there. That would be kind of nice to have a third or a first baseman like that.

But I think I'm sticking with them in the outfield for now. But yeah, I'm going to go with, I'm going to go with Nolan. What do you guys think? What do you think they should do at third base if R&A was out of the picture? Do you want to see, you want to see Gorman? You want to see Donovan? You want to see C. Jaycee at third base? That's a possibility, too. Let me know in the comments section.

I appreciate all the questions. And we'll keep these going moving forward. I know these segments move along pretty quick. So we'll talk our way through together this bizarre offseason for the Cardinals. Because we're all kind of like, I don't know what we're doing. We're all confused because we've never been this way before. We're not the people talking about signing free agents and adding people. This is very strange area for all.

all of us. I get it. So we're going to do some news from around the league next, which does include a former Cardinal, Jack Flaherty. What's the latest on him? And another possible Cubs trade? We'll get into it next on Lockdown Cardinals. There's not a whole lot of things better than going to a live sporting event, whether it is going to a baseball game. I know now it's hard to talk about baseball and being outside because wintertime in St. Louis and just in the Midwest is, it's rough. It's just rough. But that's why we got great indoor sports like the St. Louis Blues or going to college basketball games. Of course, football still going on as well.

And with the game time map, you're going to be able to find tickets to all of your favorite sporting events like going to a blues hockey game, which, again, the turnaround under Jim Montgomery and the fact that Robert Thomas's bags obviously made a big difference. But it's been a lot more fun to head on down to the arena, hasn't it? Killer last minute deals, all in prices, views from your seat, and their lowest first. price guarantee game time. It takes the guesswork out of buying tickets to all of your favorite sporting events as well as music, whether it's concerts, whether it's comedy, theater, and a whole lot more. They're all available on the GameTime app. So download the GameTime app, create your account. Use the code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeemed code locked on MLB. That's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-M-L-B for $20 off. Download game time today, last minute

tickets. Lowest price guaranteed. Thank you again for making lots on Carnals, your first listen today for your second listen. Fine, locked on MLB. That is where our guy solely takes you through the ups and downs of everything going on in the baseball season. It's a daily blend of humor in baseball, and he's got stories galore. So if you like listening to stories, Sully is your man, for sure. Find Locked on M&B on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. I don't know.

I'm very flemy today. I apologize. The weather just keeps changing. days it's 50, some days it's 20, and it's raining, and then it's snowing, and I don't know, it messes with me. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there. All right. Let's talk about former Cardinal Jack Flaherty, obviously outstanding season last year, which we were happy for Jack. Obviously, you know, we wish that had happened to the Cardinals uniform, but for him to sign with the Tigers, bet on himself, and then end up with the Dodgers and winning a World

Series championship. Congratulations. Good news for Jack Flaherty. Yet to find a a home this offseason, though. Ken Rosenthal says the Orioles, which is the team the Cargels traded him to, view him as a fallback option if they're unable to bring back Corbyn Burns. Also added that the Red Sox could be involved here. They were interested in him last offseason before he signed with the Tigers. One of the good things about Jack Flaherty, if you're unaware, is that he's not tied to a qualifying offer, which means a team, if a team other than the Dodgers who he was playing for signs him, they wouldn't have to forfeit a draft pick. which is huge, huge in the free agency world. It should make him even more appealing to clubs, but so far, he's still out there, still available. I know some have suggested that the Cardinals, hey, what about bringing Jack back? I just, I feel like that time has passed.

I think it's over. And with the Cardinals not looking to spend a whole lot of money anyways, or not tried to add a whole lot of money to the payroll, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to the Cardinal should even, chit-chat with him. Talking about Corbyn Burns, still out there. Talks are that the Giants could be the frontrunner for him right now, so we'll keep an eye on that.

Again, teams will filter down to other names like Jack Flaherty when Corbyn Burns finally signs that dotted line. So that's the big domino to fall there. Also saw a rumor about the Cubs and Marlins in discussions for pitching. Left hander, Jesus Luzardo, a guy we brought up on this podcast many, many times. Bruce Levine of 670 a.m. The score Chicago reported this weekend that the Cubs are in talks with the Marlins about a possible trade and added today that a deal for Lazzardo was something that the Cubs would really like to get done here in the next few days.

They've been working on it. Now, Lazzardo, 2023, outstanding year. Loved it. It was great, right? And that was when we were all like, hey, Cardinal should probably, you know, think about making a trade to go get him. And then this past year, a lot of injuries, not a lot of time on the field. So that was bad. And he's dealt with injuries in the past before. Bob Nightingale, USA Today,

also reporting that the Cubs are interested in Lazzardo, who's still 27 under club control for two more seasons. So, like, trading for him should, is not going to be cheap. You know what that means as far as prospects go, that you got to throw in some decent prospects when somebody has that much control still available. According to Levine, the Marlins desire,

young controllable hitters for him. So obviously the Cardinals do have some of those guys. Burley, Newt, Ciani, Scott, Chase Davis. I mean, I can keep going with guys who are under control and young, Nolan, but there's really, I mean, the Cardinals are going to make a move on something like that. They're trying to stick with their prospects, not trade him away. There's also talks that the Cubs could be interested in Luis Castillo of the Seattle Mariner.

So they already made the trade and got Kyle Tucker. There might be a Cody Bellinger trade where he leaves, but, you know, the Cubs clearly see a window of opportunity here. Where, you know, the brewers have traded, Devin Williams away again. They lost Willie Adamas. Cardinals are clearly down a bit right now. The Reds, you're not really sure. You know, two years ago, you're like, hey, up-and-coming team. And last year, injuries and stuff brought them right back down to Earth.

Pirates are kind of the pirates right now. Yeah, they got some young guys and stuff. But do they have enough offense? Spencer Horowitz, the answer over there. Hard to say that that's the answer. But, you know, the cubs are kind of like looking around like, hey, everybody's kind of average here, man. maybe we should take advantage of this and they're going to make a push and then a vision

and try to snatch it from the breweries in 2025. Again, I apologize for all the coughing and stuff. I have no idea why I'm just so today, but I appreciate you bearing with me. But that's kind of the biggest news right now around the league, not a whole lot to bring up as far as Cardinal stuff. It's really kind of it. We're waiting on some big names to sign. Alex Breggman, Corbyn,

Those are the next two big pillars waiting on those guys. So when stuff like that breaks, we'll let you know. Thanks for making Locked on Cardinals for first list in every day. If you haven't already, please give us a follow on Twitter X at L.O. underscore Cardinals and a JD. Sports Radio. Like, subscribe on YouTube and help our channel and love for the Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. We'll see you next time on a less coffee episode of Locked on Cardinals.