It took 94 days into the offseason for the National League Central to see its first big-name player acquisitions, and the latest -- Joc Pederson signing with the Chicago Cubs being the first, earlier in the day -- is a doozy: The St. Louis Cardinals agreed late Friday night to acquire four-time defending NL Platinum Glove winner and five-time All-Star Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies.
As we await word of the Rockies' return -- left-handed swingman Austin Gomber is reportedly expected to be included in the trade, almost entirely erasing what limited fantasy value he had -- let's get to the impact on Arenado. Fantasy managers' snap judgment on the departure of a Rockies hitter from Coors typically leans towards "catastrophe," and for a player with Arenado's reputation and career accomplishments, there'll probably be an initial rush to panic. There's a danger in exaggerating the pitfalls of his leaving Coors, and a point at which he'd become a draft-day steal.