Nolan Arenado and the St. Louis Cardinals are looking to turn things around during the 2024 season. After winning the National League Central in 2022, St. Louis struggled throughout the 2023 campaign. Arenado wants to lead the Cardinals' young roster by example in 2024.
“If you want to get the best out of young guys, they’ve got to see how the veterans do it, All-Stars, players who have been there and done it before, and that’s how you get them better,” Arenado said, via Derrick Gold of stltoday.com. “If they don’t have that type of figures, it’s going to be hard for that to happen. No, I know Goldy and me were there. But we’re not really vocal people, either. It’s nice to have Carp (Matt Carpenter) who is not afraid to go up to people and talk to them and, like I said, hold people accountable.”
Arenado referenced Matt Carpenter, who previously played for the Cardinals and re-signed this past offseason. The Cardinals' roster is getting younger, though. The amount of respected veteran presences have dwindled with the retirements of Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright.
Arenado understands that it's up to Goldschmidt and himself to lead the charge as not just veterans, but two of the best players in the sport. Leading by example is displayed by going about your business in a professional manner, and getting the job done on the field.
Nolan Arenado set to lead Cardinals in 2024
Arenado, a 32-year-old third baseman, excels both on defense and at the plate. Although he failed to win a Gold Glove for the first time in his career in 2023, Arenado is certainly still a talented defender at the hot corner.
Offensively, Arenado is still reliable despite his down '23 season. He ultimately slashed just .266/.315/.459/.774 in 2023. Arenado added 26 home runs across 144 games played.
It will be interesting to see if he can bounce back. Arenado's track record will leave Cardinals fans feeling confident in him. And if Arenado can return to his MVP-caliber form, St. Louis should find themselves in a position to also rebound.
The St. Louis Cardinals' franchise expects to compete every season, so their forgettable 2023 campaign was unacceptable by their standards. It would not be surprising by any means to see this team make a playoff run in 2024.
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