Even Nolan Arenado’s struggles don’t change Cardinals big win in Rockies trade

Even with the St. Louis Cardinals climbing back into playoff contention after a slow start, the most remarkable part of that is that they've been able to do so with their two biggest offensive starts, corner infielders Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, not looking anything remotely like themselves.

Arenado hasn't been as lost in the wilderness as Goldschmidt but it's not been good for the Cardinals third baseman. He's nearing the All-Star break with only a .677 OPS on the season while hitting just seven home runs and 13 doubles with a meager 34 RBI. That would be the lowest OPS of his career to this point and, outside of his rookie season in 2013 (.706), it's the lowest mark by at least 60 total points.

And despite this, when we still look back at the 2021 trade that sent Arenado from the Colorado Rockies to the Cardinals is still a monstrous win for St. Louis. We got more evidence of that this week.

On Thursday, the Rockies outrighted Elehuris Montero back to Triple-A after he cleared waivers so he won't take up space on the 40-man roster. And that continues to make this trade look almost like bullying for how well the Cardinals made out in the end, regardless of where Arenado goes from here.

Rockies prove again that Cardinals won Nolan Arenado trade in a landslide

Montero, an infielder who has recently played first base in Kris Bryant's absence, was one of five players the Cards sent to the Rockies along with LHP Austin Gomber, RHP Tony Locey, RHP Jake Sommer and IF Mateo Gil. And what those guys have given to Colorado has been worse than underwhelming.

Before being sent down, Montero had just a .571 (and -1.4 WAR) in more than 60 games this season. Gomber has been a staple in the rotation for the Rockies but has a 5.00 ERA guy. Sommers has been getting shelled this year in Double-A and Triple-A. Locey was traded to the Rays (where he's also struggled to progress). Gil, finally, was waived from High-A after the 2022 season.

It's been a disaster for the Rockies to trade a certified superstar for a return where the best asset they got in return has been a middling starting pitcher. That's not at all the goal going into the trade like that.

While some might be quick this season to say the Cardinals' win in this trade isn't as substantial because of his struggles, that's just simply still not true. Again, no matter what the second half of 2024 looks like for Arenado, he's still a three-time All-Star with St. Louis. He's still an elite defender at third base. He's still not a god-awful hitter, even if he's been lesser than he was previously.

That's just so substantially much more than what the Rockies got out of this trade. Now, the Cardinals would surely love to have a ring or at least an NL pennant to show for it but, again, what they've gotten from Arenado has been exactly what they hoped for for three years and not for 0.5 seasons. That's an enormous victory in this trade and, frankly, I'm not sure anything will change that at this point based on what we've seen.