It felt as if every storyline we heard involving the St. Louis Cardinals revolved around Nolan Arenado and his refusal to waive his no-trade clause. Arenado's stubbornness wasn't the only reason the Cardinals were unable to trade him, but he certainly made their lives harder. Now, Arenado's stubbornness threatens to put the Cardinals in a spot they don't want to be in once again, based on what The Athletic's Katie Woo just reported.
"Nolan Arenado (right index finger sprain) has tried his best to avoid the IL, but he’s played in just four games this month and completed only two of them. He’ll use the All-Star break as a reset and hope to return to game action Friday," Woo wrote.
Arenado's refusal to go on the injured list despite what's clearly a nagging injury is putting the Cardinals in a rough spot.
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Nolan Arenado is making life difficult for the Cardinals again
Arenado is still an elite defender, but his bat has never been worse. He's slashing .246/.305/.388 with 10 home runs and 42 RBI in 84 games overall, and his play has taken a turn for the worse ever since he jammed his finger, resulting in a sprain in late June. In the five games he's been able to appear in since the injury, he's left two prematurely, and has three hits (all singles) in 16 at-bats (.188 average).
Is there a reason Arenado isn't going on the IL other than him not wanting to? I mean, sure, Thomas Saggese hasn't been great in games Arenado hasn't been able to play, but if the Cardinals simply handed him the starting nod for 10 days, perhaps he'd turn things around. If anything, he can't iook much worse than Arenado has.
Arenado forcing his way into the lineup when he probably shouldn't be playing accomplishes nothing. The Cardinals don't get to take a needed look at Saggese, and it's not as if Arenado is helping them win. At 51-46, the Cardinals are right in the thick of the postseason race. For that to remain the case, they're going to need to get production out of their third base position, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
Arenado wanting to play through pain is objectively a good thing, but not when it costs his team on the field. All Cardinals fans hope is that his stubbornness doesn't cost the franchise in a second way in just a matter of months.