SEATTLE — Cardinals superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado said he wouldn’t be shocked if he’s traded.
“It is a business, right?” Arenado said.
“I’ve been traded once,” he continued. “I think that shocked a lot of people at that time. I guess it doesn’t surprise me anymore what happens in this game. It would still be surprising seeing some things happen. But I understand there are certain things that probably should.”
The talent-laden Cardinals have been nothing short of a disaster this year, and that is shocking to many folks who’ve seen them win perennially.
The Cardinals rarely sell. But they are 38-52, 11 games out in the wild-card race.
It seems more likely they’d deal free-agents-to-be Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty and Jordan Hicks, and perhaps Tyler O’Neill.
Nothing can be ruled out when a team underperforms like this. While he hasn’t heard anything specific about him, he is bracing for that conversation.
“Until that happens I try not to think about it,” Arenado said. “I understand what our position is. I understand things are probably going to happen. But until it involves me, I try not to give it too much thought.”
All-Star OF Nick Castellanos said the Phillies are back on track after a sluggish start: “It’s a humbling sport. But our last month, we are back to playing good baseball, and unselfish baseball.”
Taijuan Walker was asked to be on the All-Star team as a replacement, but he already had family plans. Scott Boras, agent for both Walker and Blake Snell, said he was disappointed Snell, a Seattle product, wasn’t then asked to take that spot.
Boras wondered aloud whether Snell was “excluded because he’s a free agent,” although he admitted he doesn’t know that. Boras pointed out he “has the performance level of an All-Star” with a 2.85 ERA (3rd in the NL), 6.52 hits per nine innings (1st) and 12.12 strikeouts per nine innings (2nd).
Said Boras: “All these elements and he has been specifically excluded. For what reason, I don’t know.”