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Veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado is about to break camp with the St. Louis Cardinals. He's played four years in St. Louis, but even with two more years remaining on his contract, it seemed unlikely this winter that he would stay a Cardinal for year five.
Arenado was at the center of trade rumors all offseason as St. Louis entered a rebuild looking to clear payroll. Though the Cardinals and Houston Astros publicly flirted over a deal for him, Arenado ultimately blocked it and nothing else materialized. Now, Arenado enters the season playing for a team that clearly did not want him.
“It was awkward at first,” Arenado said, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I was also at peace that I can’t control any of these things besides getting myself ready for the season. That’s what I really wrapped my head around. I’m going to be here. I am happy that I’m here. And I’m going to give it everything.”
There's another side of it, too. Arenado hit for a .719 OPS last year, the lowest since his rookie season, while hitting only 16 home runs despite a career average of more than 30 per season. He didn't want to leave the Cardinals on a low note.
“Some of the awards while I’ve been here are pretty cool, but I don’t think it would have been a good finish,” he said. “I would always feel bad that my last year was that year. That’s what I’m focused on. I’m excited that I have another opportunity to change that.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to go out and compete and compete in a place where they take pride in good baseball. That’s what I want to give them.”
DJ LeMahieu likes what he sees from his friend and Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado
Arenado is about to turn 34, so his subpar 2024 could easily be chalked up to an All-Star aging out of his prime. That may be. But Arenado's friend, New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu, lauded Arenado's mentality coming into the 2025 season.
“He seems like he’s in a really good spot,” LeMahieu said, per Goold. “I don’t think things went the way he wanted to last year. He seems like he’s ready to go have a good year this year. Talking to him, he really wasn’t caught up in all the (trade) stuff going on. He wants to win. He wants to win really bad. From Day 1 that I’ve known him, he’s got that one thing on his mind.”
It seems that even with the Cardinals' front office focused on building for the future, Arenado thinks St. Louis can make some noise now. They'll get started on Thursday when they host the Minnesota Twins on Opening Day.
