D-backs heroically save Mariners from further Nolan Arenado speculation

Around this time last year, a trade for Nolan Arenado might have made sense for the Seattle Mariners. They had yet to execute their plan to have Jorge Polanco play third base, and even that one didn't work out the way they intended.

But this winter? Nah. No way. Arenado never made much sense for Seattle. The reasons felt self-explanatory, and one feels safe hazarding a guess that most Mariners fans could intuit what they were. Hence why calls for the team to revisit Arenado's were never coming from inside the house, so to speak.

Nolan Arenado-to-the-Mariners speculation can finally go away after Diamondbacks trade

There was, however, that one guy. Namely, Jon Morosi of MLB Network, who seemed to be the only person still banging the "Arenado could make sense for Seattle" drum after everyone else had long ago put away their sticks.

The concept was downright baffling, and it finally died on Tuesday when the Arizona Diamondbacks took Arenado off the market by closing a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Snakes are taking on only $11 million of the $42 million that the eight-time All-Star is still owed, and surrendered only an eighth-rounder from last year's draft.

Honestly? Solid deal for Arizona. They had a question mark hanging over the hot corner prior to Arenado's arrival, and he at least offers some semblance of certainty. The defensive skills that made him a 10-time Gold Glover are still there, even if his bat has withered.

Could the Mariners have done this deal? Well, yes. Literally any team could have done this deal. But Arenado's trade market was always less a matter of "Could we?" and more one of "Should we?"

Reputation aside, the dude will turn 35 years old on April 16 and is coming off a career-low 1.3 rWAR. The calculation for interested teams was unflattering: expect a roughly replacement-level regular, and hope against hope that a change of scenery would energize the bat.

Whereas Arizona is perfect for such a gamble, the Mariners already have Arenado at home. Ben Williamson even matched his 1.3 rWAR last year. The 25-year-old was Arenado's better in terms of average and on-base percentage, and at least as good on defense.

As he's still in his pre-arbitration years, Williamson is only entitled to the MLB minimum of $780,000 in 2026. He'll therefore make a fraction of the small percentage of Arenado's salary that Arizona is responsible for, and he might not even have the inside track at the third base job.

When he pitched Arenado as a still-good fit for Seattle in December, Morosi alluded to how he could have been a mentor for Williamson. Cool idea… if it made sense, which it didn't. There wouldn't have been much sense in the Mariners rostering both players, in which case Arenado would have had a hard time doing an Obi-Wan Kenobi thing for Williamson from afar.

Ultimately, this is an "all's well that ends well" situation. The Diamondbacks got a third baseman, the Cardinals saved some money, and the Mariners avoided making a trade that would have had all of Seattle demanding answers.