RADIO
Athletics had a Deal in Place for Nolan Arenado
Before the St. Louis Cardinals traded veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Athletics had a deal in place for him, people briefed on the discussions told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The A's were set to absorb more money than the D-backs, who will pay Arenado $11 million of the $42 million he's owed the next two seasons. However, Arenado preferred Arizona or the San Diego Padres, and he wouldn't necessarily approve a trade to the A's. Now that Arenado is in Arizona, the Athletics plan to use Max Muncy at the hot corner, with Brett Harris and Darell Hernaiz also in the mix. If the A's aren't sold on Muncy, they could look to the free-agent market and sign Eugenio Suarez or Yoan Moncada. The 34-year-old Arenado continues to decline offensively with a career-low .237 average and a bottom-10 percentile exit velocity. The move to Arizona is a boost in ballpark factor, but the rest of Arenado's offensive profile doesn't look pretty.
Source: The Athletic - Ken Rosenthal
Source: The Athletic - Ken Rosenthal
