Nolan Arenado would ‘love' to play for Cubs, should Rockies move him

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The outcome of Kris Bryant’s service time grievance is in, with an MLB arbitrator ruling in favor of the Cubs. With Bryant losing the grievance, the club can move forward with potential trade talks, now knowing their star third baseman has two more years of club control and therefore more value.

One deal that has reportedly been discussed, at least in earnest, is a one-for-one that would send Bryant to Colorado in exchange for Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado.

Shortly after breaking the result of Bryant’s grievance, ESPN’s Jeff Passan appeared on NBC Sports Chicago’s David Kaplan’s radio show. Kaplan proposed a trade that would send Bryant, Jason Heyward, Willson Contreras and a prospect to the Rockies for superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado.

According to Passan, the Rockies would hang up the phone if the Cubs offered that package. However, he made one thing certain: Arenado would love to play for the Cubs.

“I don’t think they are at the top of the list right now, even though Nolan Arenado would love to come and play in Chicago,” Passan said of the Cubs. “And I mean he would love it.”

The difficulty of adding Arenado for Bryant straight up is it doesn’t shed any salary, one of the Cubs’ offseason objectives. Arenado is owed $234M through 2026 and $35 million annually through 2024. Bryant will make $18.6 million in 2020.

Kaplan’s proposal would shed salary, though as Passan said, Heyward’s $86 million — or even half of it — would be too much for Colorado. Passan said a more likely scenario is the same deal but including Tyler Chatwood ($13 million salary in 2020) rather than Heyward.

The financial gymnastics of a Bryant-Arenado swap will make a deal difficult to achieve. If Arenado grows increasingly disgruntled with the Rockies, perhaps a trade becomes more likely.

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