The Boston Purple Sox have not been in a position to land the sort of blockbuster free agent that the followers and their very own franchise participant have known as for.
Final winter, the entrance workplace promised a “full throttle” offseason that failed to fulfill expectations. Subsequently, executives were booed at a fan occasion and third baseman Rafael Devers called on the front office to “make an adjustment to assist us win” simply earlier than the 2024 season started.
The Purple Sox may start to show issues round with a top-tier free agent this winter. They’ve been linked to Juan Soto and Blake Snell, who will each command main contracts forward of 2025. Or they may go full throttle on the commerce market, with Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer proposing a commerce with the St. Louis Cardinals that brings eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado to Boston in trade for Masataka Yoshida.
Malhotra/Getty Pictures
“The Purple Sox have a stable lineup, however it could be higher if it was extra balanced and supplied high quality protection along with offensive thump,” Rymer famous. “Even at this stage of his profession, Nolan Arenado could possibly be a boon to Boston on each fronts.”
In 12 big-league seasons, Arenado has slashed .285/.342/.515 whereas incomes 10 Gold Glove Awards as one among baseball’s finest third basemen. At age 33, he slashed simply .272/.325/.394 for the Cardinals in 2024, however he led the majors with a .977 fielding share at third and racked up 16 homers and 71 RBI.
It appears Arenado nonetheless has one thing left within the tank, although he’s owed $52 million over the following three seasons after signing an eight-year, $260 million extension with the Colorado Rockies in 2019. The Purple Sox may get extra worth out of that wage than the Cardinals, although, as Arenado would add a crucial right-handed bat to the lineup and his penchant for pulling balls to left field would play properly in Fenway Park.
Plus, if the Purple Sox are prepared to tackle just a little extra wage general with this swap, it may present some reduction for his or her finest participant.
“If the Purple Sox had Arenado to play the new nook, they may transfer Rafael Devers throughout the diamond to first base,” Rymer added. “This has felt like an inevitable shift for some time now, as Devers is not precisely getting extra dependable defensively at third.”
Getting freed from Arenado’s wage could possibly be the primary advantage of this commerce from the Cardinals’ perspective as they give the impression of being to rebuild for future years. Yoshida has probably not lived as much as the five-year, $90 million deal he signed with the Purple Sox in 2022. But when the Cardinals really feel like he can progress into the longer term whereas Arenado strikes on for the ultimate years of his profession, the commerce is likely to be a win-win for each side.
Extra MLB: Yankees Land Former MVP, Gold Glove Winner in Five-Player Trade Proposal
