Denver, CO
Rockies Journal: Nolan Arenado trade has failed to produce what Cardinals hoped
Time brings perspective, even in the hot-button world of contemporary sports.
So it is with the Rockies’ 2021 trade of star third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals.
As word of the trade leaked out, Sports Illustrated wrote: “Years from now, what transpired in the baseball world on Jan. 29, 2021, will be remembered as the Friday Night Heist. The Cardinals held up the aimless Rockies for their best player, made Colorado fork over $50 million to cover their tracks and left behind an undisclosed bundle of mid-tier prospects for their troubles.”
That was the nearly universal sentiment at the time. And while the trade will forever symbolize missteps by Colorado’s ownership and front office, its consequences are no longer black and white. More than three years later, there are multiple shades of gray.
Arenado appears to have peaked, and now, at age 33, his career is on the downside. And while it’s true that he escaped the losing culture in Colorado, the postseason dreams he longed for in St. Louis seem far away.
The Rockies lost their best and most dynamic player when the trade went down. Believe it or not, they still pay part of Arenado’s salary. Last year, they forked over $16 million for him to play for the Cardinals. This year, the Rockies are paying only $5 million.
The Rockies have yet to replace Arenado’s star power. They tried and failed when they signed Kris Bryant to a seven-year, $182 million contract before the 2022 season. Plus, many Rockies fans have never forgiven the organization for the Arenado trade and turned their backs on the team, perhaps forgetting that the star third baseman forced his way out of LoDo.
Still, 3 1/2 years removed from that dark day in Colorado sports history, the trade is not the complete bust it was predicted to be, largely because of left-hander Austin Gomber, who’s emerged as Colorado’s best starter. Over his last 23 starts since June 25, 2023, he’s 6-5 with a 3.36 ERA and has posted 12 quality starts over that span (entering this weekend). Gomber was sensational in May, going 4-0 with a 1.71 ERA in five starts.
Gomber is eligible to become a free agent after next season, so if he stays healthy, there is a possibility the Rockies could trade him for a decent return. Or, if the Rockies can begin turning things around in 2025, perhaps the lefty remains a cog in the rotation.
Elehuris Montero was also part of the Arenado trade. He was a bust as a third baseman, but with Bryant spending more time in the trainer’s room than on the diamond, Montero has emerged as a decent first baseman. At the plate, however, Montero stands in no-man’s land. It’s doubtful he’ll ever be an impactful major league player over the long haul. Although he’s reduced his strikeout rate from 36.2% last season to 22.0% currently, he’s hitting just .209 with a .570 OPS and a meager three home runs.
But the deal will forever be known as “The Arenado Trade.” When it went down, the storyline was that the 10-time Gold Glove third baseman had found greener pastures. But unless the Cardinals rediscover their winning ways, the trade will ultimately be viewed as a disappointment.
Before Arenado’s bitter feud with former general manager Jeff Bridich, before the trade that Arenado forced, and before the Rockies stumbled to five straight losing seasons (and counting), Arenado told me something that has stayed with me.
In January 2018, he said: “The opportunity to play in October every year is what I want. I want a team that tries as hard as it can to make the playoffs every year.”
Arenado stressed that he didn’t want his career to play out as Todd Helton’s did. Helton played all 17 of his seasons in Colorado, had his number retired and will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 21. But Helton’s Rockies qualified for the playoff just twice, going to the World Series in 2007 and getting beat in the National League division series in 2009.
“There is something to be said for being with an organization for your whole career; I definitely believe in that,” Arenado said. “I admired Todd, and I admired (Yankees Hall of Famer) Derek Jeter, guys who stick with one team their whole career. So, I have a lot of respect for what Todd did. But at the end of the day, I don’t want to be in Todd’s shoes where I only go to the playoffs twice in my career.”
Still, in the spring of 2019, Arenado signed what was then the biggest contract in Denver professional sports history — eight years, $260 million. Less than two years later, he was gone.
“As a kid, you dream of winning a World Series, and that’s still the dream now,” he said on the day he was officially traded to St. Louis. “To join this organization, they care about winning and about getting things done, and that’s really exciting.”
The reality is that Helton went to a World Series. Arenado has not.
In fact, the Cardinals have yet to win a single playoff game since Arenado came on board. In 2021, they went 90-72, finished second in the National League Central and lost the wild-card playoff game to the Dodgers. In 2022, they went 93-69 and won the NL Central but were swept in the wild-card series by the Phillies.
The irony is that Arenado wanted out of Colorado because he didn’t believe the team was doing enough to build a winning team. But in St. Louis, the Cardinals didn’t do enough on the pitching side to build around Arenado and fellow star Paul Goldschmidt.
That’s haunting the Cardinals now. Arenado and Goldschmidt’s stars have dimmed, and the Cardinals had a 30-32 record entering Saturday as they continued their four-game series with the Rockies in St. Louis. Arenado is slashing .248/.309/.370 with six homers and 29 RBIs. After winning a Gold Glove 10 consecutive years, Arenado did not win one last season. He’s still a terrific fielder, but he’s not the favorite to win a Gold Glove this year.
Meanwhile, Goldschmidt, 36, is slashing .227/.303/.353 with seven homers and 24 RBIs.
The Cardinals’ lackluster start to this season follows a 2023 in which they tumbled to last place in their division with a 71-91 record. That did not sit well with Arenado, who decided at the end of the 2022 season that he would remain with the Cardinals through 2027.
“We have to take a huge step,” Arenado told The Athletic before this season. “I don’t think it’s OK to have another bad year. When you think of the Cardinals, you think of extended greatness and constantly winning. We don’t have time to not be good again.
“I don’t think the fans expect that. We, as individuals, don’t expect that. There is no other expectation other than we need to go win. But that hasn’t changed. I think people think it has changed because of the year we had last year, but the expectations stay the same. It’s just a matter of us taking that leap forward.”
But Arenado is struggling to regain the swing that enabled him to launch at least 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs for seven straight seasons from 2015 to ’22.
“It’s bad. The swing is not good, my swing is not good,” Arenado told reporters at the end of May after going 0 for 4 in the Cardinals’ 3-1 loss at Cincinnati. “I’ve been working on it and trying to figure this thing out, but my swing is not good.
“I’m a guy that pulls the ball in the air and I haven’t done that all year. I don’t know what the answers are. I’ve got to continue to try to find it. I can see the difference of when I was good and when I’m not, but trying to apply it in games right now is really hard for me.”
Arenado’s 2.4% home run rate pales compared to the 6.3% he put up in 2015 when he hit a career-high 42 homers for the Rockies. In 2021, during his first season with the Cardinals, Arenado’s home run rate was 5.2%, and he put the ball over the fence 34 times. So, his decline is not simply a Coors Field thing.
Arenado, the best third baseman I’ve ever seen and one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met, deserves to be enshrined in Cooperstown someday. He has Hall of Fame credentials.
I don’t believe he regrets being traded to the Cardinals, a team rich with a winning tradition and a fan base that lives and breathes baseball. But if the Cardinals don’t rediscover those winning ways soon, with Arenado leading the way, one of the biggest trades in Colorado sports history won’t turn out like anyone projected. Least of all, the man at the center of it all.
The Trade
On Feb. 1, 2021, the Rockies traded All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado and approximately $51 million to the Cardinals for left-handed pitcher Austin Gomber, right-handers Tony Locey and Jake Sommer, and infielders Mateo Gil and Elehuris Montero.
Where are they now?
• Gomber: The 30-year-old lefty has become a mainstay in the Rockies’ rotation. He’s 24-28 in three-plus seasons with a 4.92 ERA in 94 games (78 starts). Gomber is 1-3 with a 3.06 ERA this season in 11 starts.
• Montero: With Kris Bryant sidelined by injury, he’s become the Rockies’ primary first baseman this season. In two-plus seasons, the 25-year-old has hit .231 with a .671 OPS and 20 home runs. This season, he’s slashing .213/.279/.303 with three home runs in 52 games.
• Sommers: At 27, Sommer has pitched in relief for Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque this season. In three games for the Yard Goats, he posted an 11.47 ERA and has a 7.36 ERA in two appearances with the Isotopes.
• Locey: The Rockies traded Locey, 25, to Tampa Bay in March 2023. He reached Double-A with the Rockies and is now pitching for the Bowling Green Red Hots, the Rays’ High-A team. In 16 relief appearances, he’s 3-0 with a 4.74 ERA.
• Gil: The 23-year-old shortstop reached High-A with the Rockies organization in 2022 but was waived after the season. He now plays for the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets’ High-A team. He’s hitting .237 with three homers in 22 games.
— Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.
Denver, CO
Victor Marx wins GOP primary for Colorado governor, defeating veteran lawmaker after unorthodox campaign
Victor Marx, a first-time candidate and nonprofit leader with a controversial personal history that’s drawn intense scrutiny, has edged out his more establishment opponent and will be Colorado Republicans’ gubernatorial nominee in November.
The Associated Press called the race for Marx late Thursday afternoon, nearly nine days after polls closed. He led the runner-up, state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, 39.9% to 39.4%, with 99% of ballots counted, according to the AP.
Marx had taken his first narrow lead over Kirkmeyer the day after the June 30 primary, and though the race remained close, he never lost the advantage. While outstanding deficient and overseas ballots helped delay a final call on the race, those votes only served to expand Marx’s margin. He led by 2,524 votes at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, out of about 522,000 ballots cast.
State Rep. Scott Bottoms was a distant third, with 20.8% of the vote.
A veteran lawmaker and former Weld County commissioner, Kirkmeyer had jumped to an early advantage on the strength of early ballot returns. But as votes returned on Election Day began to filter in, her lead thinned and collapsed. Within 48 hours of polls closing, and with few ballots left to count in Kirkmeyer’s Front Range strongholds, her path to retake the lead had all but vanished.
Marx will next face Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser in November. No Republican has been elected to the governor’s office in more than 20 years. Four months out, Weiser appears to be heavily favored to continue Democrats’ electoral dominance.
In an email to supporters after the race was called, Marx said he was humbled to be the nominee and that the victory was “the starting line.”
“My team and I have put together this special message that I want every Coloradan to hear — Republicans, independents, unaffiliated voters, and Democrats who are open to a better way,” he said. “Because what we’re building now is bigger than a primary victory.”
In a video, he appealed to Coloradans who are frustrated with the status quo and don’t think things can change — citing his victory as proof they can.
“Now Phil Weiser, he’s a smart fella — but he represents the current system, because he is part of it,” Marx said. “And that current system has made Colorado more expensive, less safe and harder for regular families to trust government.”
In a separate statement, Kirkmeyer said she was proud of the race that she had run and the “clear vision” she had laid out for the Republican Party here.
“While we came up short in what appears to be the closest Republican gubernatorial primary in Colorado history, I’m grateful for every voter who placed their trust in us,” she wrote.
Echoing the pledge she’d made before Election Day, she pointedly did not endorse Marx. She said only that she hoped voters “choose the path that is best for Colorado” in November.
Kirkmeyer also threw a final jab at Marx, who declined in late May to tell 9News how many people he’d killed as an adult.
Kirkmeyer wrote that, “for the record, I still haven’t killed anyone.”
First-time candidate shrugged off questions
Marx’s primary win is a remarkable result for the embattled Colorado GOP and for Marx, a former Marine, martial arts instructor and nonprofit leader whose extensive and much-scrutinized personal history had drawn national headlines. It’s also attracted sharp criticism from other Republicans.
In his video, Marx appealed to Republican primary voters, saying there was room in his campaign for those who supported his opponents.
Marx had entered the fray last fall with no political profile and no experience as a political candidate. But by the time voters began receiving ballots last month, he’d ridden an atypical — if thoroughly modern — campaign to fundraising dominance and front-runner status.
Kirkmeyer’s support largely flowed from northern Front Range counties, nudging her ahead initially. But Marx picked up bigger margins among Election Day voters — meaning those more conservative voters skeptical of mail-in balloting.
He also won ruby-red El Paso County while racking up smaller wins in rural counties and grabbing enough in the Front Range to edge Kirkmeyer.
Map: Where did the votes come from in the Colorado primary races for governor?
In a pitch reminiscent of President Donald Trump, the arch-dealmaker, Marx has cast himself as a solutions-focused negotiator disinterested in partisan squabbles. In 2003, he founded All Things Possible Ministries, a Christian nonprofit that has provided stuffed animals and trauma support to people. It has also done work in conflict areas in Syria and Iraq, where Marx primarily worked away from the front lines as a funder and facilitator.
By 2024, the nonprofit’s annual revenue had surpassed $7.5 million, and Marx has said the group — from which he has resigned — now primarily works to help law enforcement.
Despite his outsider status, Marx was considered the likely winner in the weeks before Election Day. His narrow victory, then, came as something of a surprise, and, on election night, he speculated that Bottoms — a conservative pastor from Colorado Springs — had pulled votes from him. In El Paso County, Bottoms earned more than 20,000 votes, or 24% of the county’s Republican total.
Though Marx out-raised and out-spent both Kirkmeyer and Bottoms, it was Kirkmeyer who had been perceived as the expected nominee when she entered the race last year. Marx had never run for office before, and the stories he’s told about his life — that he’d killed a man at age 7, been involved in “high-risk humanitarian” operations across the globe and could free people from demonic possession — drew intense scrutiny and national punchlines.
But he repeatedly shrugged off questions about his background and said he stood by all that he had said and written.
Through his personality-heavy, direct-to-voter campaign, he encouraged Colorado Republicans to shrug it off, too. He spent heavily on direct mailers, which provided a boost to both his fundraising and name recognition.
Marx eschewed policy discussions and skipped nearly every debate. When he did participate in one, he spent part of the event leaning on the lectern, with his dog at his feet. Rather than deliver a closing statement, he prayed.
Campaigning his own way
Though he leaned into his outsider status, the aw-shucks appeal belied a careful campaign shaped by Marx’s emergence from a political environment forged by Trump: He skipped one debate after a moderator pressed him about his background, and he held a rally instead; his campaign later highlighted how many more people attended the rally than the debate.
His media operation was led by a former Turning Points USA staffer, and his campaign touted its social media posts’ views at Marx’s watch party last week. He was comfortable as a podcast guest, regularly released videos of himself and repeatedly assured voters that he was no politician.
Though Marx had little backing — or trust — from institutional Republican forces, the PAC that supported his campaign was established by a former senior official from Gov. Bill Owens’ administration. Marx also was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, the most nationally visible Colorado Republican.
His approach proved to be enough for Colorado Republicans to back him. But his next task will be far harder.
In November, he will face a surging Weiser, who last week dismantled U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet on his way to the Democratic nomination. Weiser proved an adept fundraiser and campaigner with statewide appeal, and he will look to lead a restless Democratic base that elected progressive candidates up and down the ballot.
In a statement Thursday, Weiser said Marx’s “views and style are far out of step with Coloradans, and his nomination for governor is a threat to our state’s values and our future.”
Republicans’ last statewide win was in a University of Colorado at-large regent’s race in 2016. The state GOP has had four elected party chairs since the last Republican gubernatorial bid in 2022, which ended with a culture war-focused Heidi Ganahl — who had won that at-large regent seat — losing by nearly 20 percentage points to Gov. Jared Polis.
Simultaneously, Marx may also have to contend with an independent candidacy from Greg Lopez, a former Republican congressman and gubernatorial candidate who is gathering signatures to make the fall ballot.
Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.
If you use Santa Fe Drive as a part of your daily commute, you will notice full closures this weekend on a popular section, from Florida Avenue to Evans Avenue, for the installation of a pedestrian bridge.
Once the 370-foot pedestrian bridge is completed, it will connect the east and west portions of Denver’s Overland neighborhood. This bridge will be used by pedestrians and bicyclists.
The Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure says this closure is needed to keep the traveling public safe. Large cranes will be used to set the two spans in place. Each one weighs about 215,000 pounds and is 180 feet long.
Once the bridge is completed in 2027, it will create a safer connection for pedestrians and bicyclists. It will link neighborhoods to trails, transit, parks, and local businesses without requiring residents to cross heavy traffic.
“Our neighborhood is quartered by transportation routes, so having a safe pedestrian bridge that can take people from one side to the other is an amazing development that neighbors have been asking for for years,” Jenn Greiving, President, Overland Park Neighborhood Association, said.
The Santa Fe Drive closure will begin at midnight on Saturday, July 11, and end on Monday, July 13, at 5 a.m. There will be detours in place. This includes:
- Southbound Santa Fe Drive Detour: Traffic will be routed to Platte River Drive to reenter southbound Santa Fe Drive at the West Evans Avenue on-ramp.
- Northbound Santa Fe Drive Detour: Access to northbound Santa Fe Drive will be at Mississippi Avenue via South Broadway Street.
- On-Ramp Closure: The West Evans Avenue on-ramp to northbound Santa Fe Drive will close at noon on Friday, July 10, to prepare for the full weekend closure and will remain closed until 5 a.m. on Monday, July 13. Traffic will be detoured to South Broadway Street to re-enter northbound Santa Fe Drive via Mississippi Avenue.
- Off-Ramp Closure: The southbound Santa Fe Drive off-ramp to West Evans Avenue will close for the full weekend period and remain closed until Friday, Sept. 11, while crews build new sidewalks and perform other concrete work at the southwest corner of the project. Detours will be posted to West Florida Avenue, West Dartmouth Avenue or West Hampden Avenue to bypass the ramp closure
During this closure, DOTI will reopen the underpass on Iowa Avenue. This is a new ADA accessible pathway that will be available between Santa Fe Drive and Acoma Street.
DENVER (KDVR) — Two officers, one now formerly of the Denver Police Department, face multiple charges relating to separate incidents in the past two months.
According to a release, now-former Denver Police Officer Gabriel Lucero was issued a citation for third-degree assault, official misconduct and false reporting, while Officer Javon Leach was cited for reckless driving and eluding.
The incident involving Lucero reportedly occurred on May 22 just before 1 a.m. in the 500 block of 16th Street. According to a release, Lucero was involved in an assault at a business, as he allegedly assaulted a person and walked away as others continued to assault the victim.
Security guards and an off-duty officer escorted him and the group out; however, Lucero reportedly identified himself as a Denver police officer and attempted to re-enter by using his police badge.
Lucero reportedly provided a false name without any other information, and further investigation verified Lucero as the person involved. Lucero was hired in 2025 and, due to his current probationary status, was fired as of Wednesday.
The incident involving Leach occurred around 1:41 a.m. on June 21, when Leach was reportedly pulling out of a parking lot on Larimer Street, attempting to drive against traffic.
Leach reportedly refused commands to stop as he left the area. Officials said he was found just seven minutes later, traveling at high speeds northbound on Park Avenue West.
He reportedly fled a traffic stop and continued to drive away, and officials deemed Leach to be the suspect following an investigation. He was placed in an off-line assignment while the case progresses, as they are considered misdemeanors.
“The Denver Police Department’s administrative review of Leach’s incident will begin once the criminal case is adjudicated, and that process includes the Denver Department of Safety and the Office of the Independent Monitor, a civilian oversight agency,” the release said.
-
News18 minutes agoTrump fires last members of election commission, inciting fears of midterm ‘chaos’
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoCalifornia teen e-biker baiting police to chase tracked by drone, arrested
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoOur picks for state\nSenate from Wayne Co. | Endorsements
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoMan reported missing in San Francisco
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoHow to buy France World Cup semifinal soccer tickets in Dallas
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMiami-Dade Schools names six semifinalists for superintendent
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoLawsuit: ICE detained East Boston father despite legal status
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoVictor Marx wins GOP primary for Colorado governor, defeating veteran lawmaker after unorthodox campaign
