At Mile High Sports, Mark Knudson suggests that Nolan Arenado's defense will be a non-issue for MVP voters. He doesn't believe Arenado will finish in the top-10 in MVP voting. I'm not so sure. MVP voters are exactly the ones who will look at Arenado's RBIs and defense and cast a vote for him. That is, they might do that in a world without Bryce Harper, who would probably be a unanimous choice if the Nationals made the postseason.
In addition to emphasizing the role defense should play in the MVP vote, Knudson suggests that Harper and Arenado "had comparable seasons" on offense.