The St. Louis Cardinals are considering rebuilding this winter. As part of this reconstruction, they may attempt to trade two of their top players, Ryan Helsley and Nolan Arenado. Both of these skilled stars would require a hefty prospect package in exchange, but determining a player’s worth over the winter is tricky.
Curt Bishop of FanSided has proposed a trade that would jettison both of these Cardinals All-Stars. However, this transaction might be a nightmare scenario for the entire league, as Bishop advises the Cardinals trading Helsley and Arenado to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Here is the whole transaction proposed by Bishop:
Los Angeles Dodgers acquire RHP Ryan Helsley, 3B Nolan Arenado St. Louis Cardinals acquire C/OF Daulton Rushing (No. 1 prospect), RHP Nick Frasso (No. 12 prospect), and INF/OF Austin Gauthier (No. 24 prospect). “For this trade to work, the Cardinals would have to eat a portion of Arenado’s salary. “He has three years and $74 million left on his contract, and he’s simply not that type of player anymore,” Bishop wrote. “But if he and Helsley are packaged together, St. Louis could still get a haul of prospects in exchange that are close to Major League-ready.”
The first thing to note is that the Cardinals would never make this deal. Bishop also advises that the Cardinals eat some of Arenado’s deal. While the Cardinals are expected to eat a portion of Arenado’s remaining contract, they would not do so for this price. Rushing is an excellent prospect, but he is the only top-10 prospect in this deal. Frasso and Gauthier are both good players, but they would not receive this type of return.
St. Louis would need two or three additional prospects, with at least one of them being a top ten talent, to bring both All-Stars together. There’s even the possibility that St. Louis may refuse to trade both All-Stars to the Dodgers because it would make them too talented. Ultimately, baseball is a business.
