Who the Rockies might get in deal

The Rockies have agreed in principle to trade all-star third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals, according to major league sources. Here’s a look at the prospects the team could potentially get in exchange for sending Arenado and $50 million to St. Louis in a trade that has yet to be officially completed.

Left-hander Austin Gomber, first baseman Luken Baker and outfielder Jhon Torres are the three names that Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported are involved in the trade. St. Louis Post-Dispatch beat reporter Derrick Goold also reported Gomber and Baker had been discussed.

Dustin Gomber

The 27-year-old is a former fourth-round draft pick in 2016 out of Florida Atlantic University. He made his major league debut in June of 2018 and posted a 4.44 ERA in 29 games (11 starts) that year. He spent all of 2019 in the minor leagues before making it back to the big leagues in 2020, when the southpaw had a 1.86 ERA in 14 games (four starts). The only player with major-league experience reported to be involved in the deal, Gomber would also be the only player expected to help the Rockies this year.

Luken Baker

The 23-year-old was the Cardinals’ second-round pick in 2018 out of TCU. In his last season in 2019 (the 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic), the right-hander played in Class-A Advanced and slashed .244/.327/.390 with 10 home runs and 32 doubles but also 112 strikeouts. He is the Cardinals’ 23rd-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline. At best, he is still several years from making the majors.

Jhon Torres

The 20-year-old is from Sincelejo, Colombia, and originally signed with the Indians as a 16-year-old in 2016. The outfielder spent the past three seasons mostly in rookie ball, and the last two in the Cardinals’ organization. In a 21game stint at the Class-A level in 2019, he struggled, slashing .167/.240/.212 with no homers from a right-handed swing that projects power. Certainly, the Rockies still have a lot of cultivating to do if Torres, the Cardinals’ ninth-ranked prospect, is to one day play at Coors Field.

If these names hold up and do indeed come through in the trade, the Rockies won’t have bolstered their farm system in any significant way, at least on paper. Colorado would still only have one prospect ranked in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100, which is last year’s first-round draft pick, outfielder Zac Veen.

Rosenthal also reported that right-handers Jake Woodford and/or Angel Rondon might be included in the trade package. Woodford is the Cardinals’ first-round draft pick from 2015 who posted a 5.57 ERA in 12 games (one start) for the Cardinals in 2020, while Rondon, a 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic, posted a 2.20 ERA across eight starts in Class-A Advanced in 2019.