Wethinks at least for the near term there’s a far better chance the Cardinals’ trade for Rays’ top pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore paves the way for bringing back Marcell Ozuna for left field than it does for setting up a trade for the Rockies’ Nolan Arenado. The Cardinals badly need outfielders and, while Arenado has expressed his dissatisfaction with the Rockies’ decline and the front office’s inactivity this winter, trading him right now would be to consign the franchise to Miami Marlins-like morgue status ... Have to wonder, especially in light of their huge arbitration raises, why any team would fork over a bundle of top prospects for Mookie Betts,($27M) who’s eligible for free agency after this coming season, or Francisco Lindpr ($17.5M), a free agent after 2021, or Kris Bryant ($18.6M) who has a grievance pending that could make him a free agent in 2020 but is more likely to be after 2021. Much as the Red Sox, Indians and Cubs respectively would like to move these players whom they know they can';t sign longterm, that isn’t the way the new wave of GMs do business, trading top prospects for players, superstars or not, with limited years of control.