A little over four years after trading away superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado, the Colorado Rockies are left with nothing to show for it. On Friday, the Rockies released Austin Gomber, the last player on their roster they acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in the deal, closing the book on their side of the trade.

Gomber was offered to any team this week, with the Rockies placing him on outright waivers on Wednesday. Any club could have claimed the left-hander and his $6.35 million salary. No team did. That came after a brutal start on Tuesday, when he allowed seven earned runs in three innings, giving up two walks and two home runs while striking out just two.

The outing fit a season-long pattern, and more broadly, it was part of the rough story of his time in purple since being acquired for Arenado in 2021. He went 28-43 with a 5.31 ERA in 125 outings; that mark was sixth-worst in baseball from 2021-25. His first season in Denver was the only one in which his ERA+ was above league average.

Gomber’s tenure coincided with three consecutive 100-loss seasons, emblematic of the franchise’s ongoing struggles under owner Dick Monfort. Put it this way: trading away Arenado was unthinkable, but to get nothing that impacted winning at all is mind-boggling.

Other Colorado franchises have flipped stars for futures and come out ahead — the Nordiques turned Eric Lindros into two Avalanche Stanley Cups and still see benefits from the Matt Duchene deal. Even the Rockies’ own history shows some return: the Matt Holliday trade brought back Carlos Gonzalez, and shipping out Troy Tulowitzki and Ubaldo Jimenez at least netted future MLB regulars, even if it didn’t work out in Colorado.

The Arenado deal? Nothing.

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Also, don’t forget that not only did the Rockies trade Arenado for the pleasure of five-plus years of this lefty struggling, they attached $50 million to the deal specifically to get Gomber.

Here’s the round-up on the deal, including their stats and accomplishments with the team that acquired them, now that it’s complete from the Rockies side.

Team
Players Received
Stats / Accomplishments

St. Louis Cardinals
Nolan Arenado
3× All-Star, 2× Gold Glove, 1× Silver Slugger, 3rd in NL MVP (2022); 697 games, 17.9 rWAR, .266/.323/.456, 115 HR, 415 RBI, 115 OPS+

$50 million
—

Colorado Rockies
Austin Gomber
125 games, 3.2 rWAR, 5.31 ERA, 90 ERA+

Elehuris Montero
205 games, -1.7 rWAR, .205/.267/.304, 21 HR, 87 RBI, 74 OPS+ (now in Japan)

Mateo Gil
Never reached majors

Tony Locey
Never reached majors

Jake Sommers
Never reached majors

Raw rWAR Total:

Cardinals: 17.9
Rockies: 1.5

You’ll also hear folks talk about how players making big money in baseball are often traded for money to better the prospect haul back. Beyond the weak prospect haul, the accepted current worth of one win above replacement is about $8 million. So, even perspective of smoothing the trade to account for on-field contributions, which money doesn’t actually do, the Cardinals are up about $81.2 million in surplus on the trade. They’ve paid Arenado about $122 million thus far and have two years left on his contract. It’s the same eight-year, $260 million extension he signed in Denver with the aim of remaining a Rockie for life.

The trade was the result of a downward spiral between Arenado and the front office. After the Rockies did little at the 2018 trade deadline, Arenado started to lose faith that ownership would do enough to win. His calls for the team to add talent clashed with general manager Jeff Bridich’s ego, leaving owner Dick Monfort to choose between his franchise cornerstone and his embattled GM. Monfort chose Bridich — and quickly lost both.

So not only did the Rockies trade their most talented player ever, who was beloved by fans because he was feuding with the GM for prospects that failed, a terrible hitter, and a poor pitcher, but they also attached $50 million to do it. Oh, and the GM quit a few weeks later, anyway. This is all already known, but Friday’s news means the trade and its ramifications from a player standpoint are over for the Rockies.

As for the ramifications of the trade on the Rockies, the state of Colorado has become mostly lethargic about big league baseball since the deal. Everything in Rockies history and fandom may come with a pre-Arenado and post-Arenado trade demarcation.

Arenado’s time in St. Louis hasn’t been as successful as he would have liked. The team hasn’t had a deep playoff run, and now the third baseman is in his twilight — no longer winning Gold Gloves or being elite, but he remains very good. It’s still hard on those in Denver who never wanted to see him play a game outside of purple after signing a long-term deal to stay. And what Nolan has given St. Louis is far better than what the Rockies got back in the deal.

While this stain on Rockies history is no longer leaving a mark on the field, its memory will be long remembered by those who once and maybe still do call themselves fans of this team.

Four years later, the book is closed. The Rockies traded away one of their greatest players, paid $50 million to do it, and got nothing in return. For a franchise once defined by its stars, the Arenado trade left only emptiness — and what remains of the fanbase is still searching for hope.