Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado reflects on ‘what could have been’ with Rockies

Nearly seven years have passed but what if still lingers What if the Rockies had made particular dramatic moves to improve the club at the exchange deadline What if the club had re-signed All-Star second baseman DJ LeMahieu considered the toughest contestant on the company instead of letting him walk away at the end of the season only to see him become a star with the Yankees What if the Rockies front office and owner Dick Monfort had improved the core of that band that won games before losing the National League West title to the Dodgers in Competition Oh yeah I think about it Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado noted Monday night before playing the Rockies at Coors Field I mean we ve talked about it I ve talked to DJ about it and Trevor Story about it Arenado a -time Gold Glove winner is on the back end of his career He entered Monday s tournament slashing with homers and RBIs After signing an eight-year million contract in February Arenado was traded from the Rockies to the Cardinals in February in one of the majority infamous trades in Colorado sports history But in the Rockies had a special unit Arenado s words Colorado fans thought so too More than million watched baseball at Coors Field Arenado was nearing the peak of his powers slashing with an NL-high homers and RBIs Of all of the what could have beens it s Colorado s failure to go all out at the agreement deadline in that sticks with him I think we were more disappointed with the lack of deadline moves at the time he explained If we had just gotten over the edge to win that division Arenado paused for a moment then added I think about a few games that season that we didn t win and I think My gosh we blew that battle Or We didn t sum enough runs If we had added just a little bit more we would have won the division That s what I believe The Rockies lost Competition - at Los Angeles They beat the Cubs - in innings in the NL wild-card match at Wrigley Field but then got swept in three games by Milwaukee in the divisional round It s been downhill ever since with Colorado closing in on seven consecutive losing seasons and now headed toward a third consecutive -loss season But the Rockies were loaded especially in the infield with Ian Desmond homers OPS at first Gold Glove winner LeMahieu at second homers OPS and Story the Silver Slugger winner at shortstop homers OPS In the outfield the Rockies had Charlie Blackmon homers OPS and Carlos Gonzalez homers OPS as well as veteran Gerardo Parra six homers OPS Para along with CarGo brought certain levity to an otherwise all-business clubhouse Lefty Kyle Freeland - ERA and right-hander German Marquez - ERA anchored a strong rotation Freeland and Marquez along with right-hander Antonio Senzatela and third baseman Ryan McMahon a role player in are the only players remaining from that club Does Freeland ever look back Absolutely he reported I feel like every organization can look at players that were dealt away or not re-signed in free agency I mean what if we did have DJ at second Story at short and Nolan at third for a longer extended period of time There are so a great number of what ifs but it inevitably comes down to the fact that this is a business Guys want to test free agency and they want new contracts And you have to ask Do they want to be here How good was that company It was very good Freeman mentioned You look at that core of veterans who moved on and what they have done in the battle and you do wonder What could have been Related Articles Rockies look to JB Middleton to reverse club s fortunes with college pitchers at top of MLB draft Walk-plagued Rockies lose to Twins waste chance for rare Coors Field sweep Association Holliday anchored by Leslee mother of baseball s famous family and Rockies latest top pick Rockies clinch first home series win of with - supremacy over Twins Rockies Journal Ezequiel Tovar returns but will Brenton Doyle ever find his way back Arenado explained that the camaraderie on Colorado s last playoff squad was special The work ethic was exceptional In his opinion the battle has changed I think what I m seeing now compared to that group was that that group was super excited to come to the field every day and get to work he announced I felt like everybody was chasing being great individually We weren t that good we were pretty good we weren t great But it was a totally different vibe from what I see now from players compared to those players in The guys got to the field at every day Guys were excited to get to the field early and we stayed late all of the time Now it s just different Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis