Dodgers Rumors: MLB Insider Doesn’t See a Nolan Arenado Trade Imminent

We’re officially in that fun period of the offseason hot stove. Each week, a new baseball writer will drop some bombshell news akin to adding newspapers to a bonfire. The flames will burn high and bright for a short while before flaming out and revealing that same sad fire as before.

You hyped up yet?

Over the last few days, the hot stove headlines have been ablaze with rumors linking superstar Rockies’ third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Dodgers. Something that seems to happen every offseason. And it makes sense. Nolan is a southern California boy and is tired of losing. Meanwhile, the Dodgers are a club ripe with prospect talent and deep pockets.

Basically, it’s an easy — and lazy — headline to run each offseason and at every trade deadline.

Undoubtedly, the Dodgers and Andrew Friedman have had conversations with the Colorado ballclub about Nolan. But the same could be said about a bevy of other stars around the league. So for the headline to read that Nolan Arenado will be a Dodger by Christmas in November feels a bit bold we’ll say. At the least.

Now, another baseball insider is bringing those rumors back to reality. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand firmly shot down the Nolan talk on MLB Network on Tuesday morning.

This is not anything that’s imminent by any means. … Right now, there’s a lot of smoke, but I wouldn’t say there’s anything close to a fire.

Seems pretty cut and dry, right? He also shared a glimpse into the complexity of a potential move like this happening. 

We’ve heard his name linked to many teams over the years and remember, trading him is very tricky. He has the opt-out at the end of 2021, so a team that acquires him would be risking that he leaves after one year or would have to try to negotiate to move that opt-out.

Final Thought

And there’s an added wrinkle to these Arenado rumors. The guy that broke the rumor, Jim Bowden, mentioned last Friday that he had “spoke to the Dodgers” that they “have been engaged with [Rockies GM] Jeff Bridich.” Well, if there’s something we’ve learned about these Dodgers, particularly in the Andrew Friedman era, is that there won’t be information like that coming out of Los Angeles.

Long story short, take these rumors (particularly in November) with a grain of salt. And we’ll be here assessing these rumors all offseason long.

PODCAST: Breaking Down Everything with the Nolan Arenado to LA Trade Rumors