Nolan Arenado will reportedly opt-in to his player option and exercise the remainder of his 5-year, $144 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, per The Athletic's Katie Woo. Arenado is fresh off of a tremendous 2022 campaign and will be St. Louis' third baseman of the future.
Nolan Arenado performed admirably throughout the 2022 campaign. The star third baseman slashed .293/.358/.533 with an .891 OPS and 30 home runs. In addition to his impressive offensive output, Arenado is regarded as one of the best defensive third basemen in all of baseball. Arenado will receive MVP consideration for his strong performance this year.
Arenado originally signed his contract extension with the Colorado Rockies, but he was traded to St. Louis prior to the 2021 season. The Cardinals understood the risk upon acquiring him, as Arenado had a 2022 player option written into his contract. But he has stated that he enjoys playing in St. Louis and confirmed that narrative by opting into his deal.
Arenado's decision isn't all that surprising given recent comments he made.
“I love it here. I love the guys. I feel like I fit well with this organization,” Nolan Arenado said, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I just feel like I fit well here. I think the city appreciates me. Probably not after tonight. I really loved it here. Hopefully we can figure it out.”
The Cardinals won the NL Central this past season. They have a quality core of players in place and should be able to make another postseason run in 2023.
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