MLB Winter Meetings bold predictions

[FrankTheTank]

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb- ... l-of-fame/

4. Arenado will get traded to ...
... the Diamondbacks. That's just a guess, though I do like the fit. Erstwhile top prospect Jordan Lawlar hasn't given the D-backs a reason to put him in the everyday lineup and a heavily subsidized Arenado would be a nice little two-year stopgap at the hot corner. Arizona is good enough that you can see them in the race in 2026, which could be enough to convince Arenado to waive his no-trade clause. The Cardinals traded away Sonny Gray last month and ate $20 million to do it. They owe Arenado a total of $37 million the next two years. Paying down another $20 million would turn him into an $8.5 million a year player from 2026-27, and hey, that's not so bad. I don't think this will drag out much longer. I think both Arenado and the Cardinals want to move on from each other, and I boldly predict it will happen at the Winter Meetings.

Get ready to be very disappointed in the return, but at this point I think no one expects much.

[Shady]

There could very well be something cooking with the Mariners with Donovan involved. Often, where there is smoke there is fire. The Mariners do have a bunch of top 100 prospects.https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/sea ... 85c8ccdc89

[StlMike1969]

It has to happen and unless packaged with Donovan or some other high upside, budget friendly player along with the eating of significant money. Anything returned will be deemed less than stellar. Gorman is not the long term answer for 3rd and I do believe the true replacement will come from another trade not so hampered by money and age.

[cardstatman]

It will be difficult for me to be disappointed in the return for Arenado. I'm not expecting much.

I fear his trade will be a salary dump to unblock prized prospect Nolan Gorman... who will like be worse than Arenado and much less fun to watch.

I'd rather trade Gorman instead of paying Arenado to play somewhere else. The prospect return will be simlarly unspectacular.

The Cardinals are going to need to do serious PR repair to get revenues going again.

Need money to win... need to win to get money... need money to win... need to win to get money.

Losing your momentum is a serious problem. Teams generally don't trade sure-fire prospects unless you have a superstar to trade to them.

[Hoosier59]

The return for Arenado is a non issue, it’s all about salary relief. The other players being let go, traded or not resigned are just salary relief as well, it’s just some of them will bring back decent returns, just not expensive ones! Every move being made this off season is nothing but reducing the payroll. If I’m wrong I’ll own up to it, but they have to prove me wrong first! So far they haven’t done so.

[Talkin' Baseball]

The return for Arenado is a non issue, it’s all about salary relief. The other players being let go, traded or not resigned are just salary relief as well, it’s just some of them will bring back decent returns, just not expensive ones! Every move being made this off season is nothing but reducing the payroll. If I’m wrong I’ll own up to it, but they have to prove me wrong first! So far they haven’t done so.

In my mind, hopefully the return is that if they save 15-20M in salary that perhaps they would spend 5,7,10M on a veteran(s) to backfill the roster.

[Hoosier59]

The return for Arenado is a non issue, it’s all about salary relief. The other players being let go, traded or not resigned are just salary relief as well, it’s just some of them will bring back decent returns, just not expensive ones! Every move being made this off season is nothing but reducing the payroll. If I’m wrong I’ll own up to it, but they have to prove me wrong first! So far they haven’t done so.

In my mind, hopefully the return is that if they save 15-20M in salary that perhaps they would spend 5,7,10M on a veteran(s) to backfill the roster.

That would be my hope as well, it only makes sense that they would do so. Almost every other team in Baseball would look at it that way, but will DeWitt do it? That’s where I have my doubts right now! I’ll actually be surprised if he does! Same with the Sonny Gray money, the Mikolas money, the Helsley, Fedde, King, and Matz money. Not to mention, if they are traded, the Contreras, Donovan, Nootbaar, and Romero monies! That’s a lot of money coming off of the books, and right now what money have they added to the roster?

[ramfandan]

It seems the prevailing opinion by many is that they do not expect much of a return for Arenado and expect a huge return for Donovan.
They may have overvalued Donovan to some extent. This isn't Juan Soto or Manny Machado you are trading .

Let's see how much the other teams in MLB value Donovan . The teams determine his market value and not a specific poster who feels Donovan
is a perennial All Star type player. He is a very good player but not an elite player by baseball terms. His highest OPS has been .772 and he hit 14 HR's in a 153 games in 2024 so he definitely is not a power hitter for some team either. He is very versatile playing several positions well and can hit the line drives for a lot of doubles.
I think he will draw a good return . He is 28 years old so in his prime years right now. For his numbers teams also like him for he doesn't make big $$$ so good value for his price point.

[Talkin' Baseball]

The return for Arenado is a non issue, it’s all about salary relief. The other players being let go, traded or not resigned are just salary relief as well, it’s just some of them will bring back decent returns, just not expensive ones! Every move being made this off season is nothing but reducing the payroll. If I’m wrong I’ll own up to it, but they have to prove me wrong first! So far they haven’t done so.

In my mind, hopefully the return is that if they save 15-20M in salary that perhaps they would spend 5,7,10M on a veteran(s) to backfill the roster.

That would be my hope as well, it only makes sense that they would do so. Almost every other team in Baseball would look at it that way, but will DeWitt do it? That’s where I have my doubts right now! I’ll actually be surprised if he does! Same with the Sonny Gray money, the Mikolas money, the Helsley, Fedde, King, and Matz money. Not to mention, if they are traded, the Contreras, Donovan, Nootbaar, and Romero monies! That’s a lot of money coming off of the books, and right now what money have they added to the roster?

I don't feel like they need to spend any particular percentage of the money saved. The point is, they have the money, and they have particular needs. Even if they are rebuilding and looking more toward the future, and not going to the top of the market, they have need of at least two major league arms for the rotation and two major league arms for the bullpen. The trades they make may create other holes that need addressing. For instance, if the were to trade Contreras and Burleson, or Arenado, Donovan, and Gorman- they would probably have to fill the vacancy via free agency. They have the ability to take care of these things- and should.