Tipsheet steadfastly downplayed the possibility of the Cardinals acquiring Nolan Arenado.
The reasons were many: The pandemic pushed the Cardinals into cost-cutting mode, the 2021 season was shaping up as a wash, the team’s top long-term hitting prospects also played third base, Arenado is owed crazy money into his twilight years, Bill DeWitt Jr. seems allergic to $30 million salaries, the Cardinals have been burned repeatedly by age-related regression ... the list went on and on.
When fans checked into our live chat Friday with high hopes for the trade, we did our best to diminish expectations.