Padres Pursued Nolan Arenado Trade, Wanted Him At First Base

[Steve Drumwright]

Were the San Diego Padres the runner-up in the sweepstakes to acquire Nolan Arenado?

That is unknown, but the Friars were serious bidders to acquire the 10-time Gold Glove third baseman from the St. Louis Cardinals, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Arenado was traded on Tuesday to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a pitching prospect, right-hander Jack Martinez.

But where the 34-year-old Arenado would have played would have been the interesting part. With Manny Machado entrenched at third base, the Padres would have wanted Arenado, a six-time Platinum Glove winner, to play first base. Currently, the Friars have a combination of Gavin Sheets and Jake Cronenworth at first base.

Another impediment in the Padres' attempt to add Arenado was how much salary the Friars would take on. The Diamondbacks took on $31 million of the $42 million Arenado is owed on the final two years of his contract. Rosenthal reported that the Padres wanted to pay less than the $11 million the D'backs will pay Arenado.

Southern California was a destination for Arenado, who was born in Newport Beach and went to high school at El Toro in Lake Forest.

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[Stuart Shaffer]

Arenado's rapid decline is what worries me about Machado and Bogaerts, starting with the coming season.  Good luck to him in AZ.  However, Mr. Preller should consider Nathaniel Lowe and Paul Goldschmidt for his L/R 1B/DH openings.  Goldschmidt is 38, but he is still one of the best hitters of LHPs in MLB -- much better than Arenado ever has been.  Plus, he'll need only a reasonably priced one year contract.