The St. Louis Cardinals tried and failed to trade Nolan Arenado this offseason. Arenado was persona non grata in Cardinals spring training thanks to his contract, which John Mozeliak deemed abysmal as early as the MLB Winter Meetings.
Mozeliak's terrible negotiating tactic of telling the world his plan failed miserably. He tried to deal Arenado to Houston – and even had a deal in place – until the third baseman axed it with his no-trade clause. The Yankees and Red Sox were at one point of interest, but have since moved on. Arenado wants nothing to do with teams like the Tigers, either, apparently. He's stuck in St. Louis and is fine with that. Arenado has three years and $52 million left on that contract, and plans on earning every penny.
“I would like to, God-willing, stay healthy and give the Cardinals fans something better to remember than last year,” Arenado told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “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.”
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Nolan Arenado has a lot to prove to Cardinals and John Mozeliak
What he gave the Cards last season was not nearly good enough. While Arenado is still a plus defender at third base, he took a step back at the plate. Arenado slashed .272/.324/.394, good for a .719 OPS, and hit just 16 home runs. If Arenado's power and plate presence are actually diminishing with his age, the Cardinals are in trouble.
Arenado admitted that his arrival at Cardinals spring training was awkward, but he eventually got used to it and now has something to prove.
“It was awkward at first,” Arenado said of coming to camp. “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.”
Nolan Arenado thinks the Cardinals can be an NL Central dark horse
As much as Mozeliak would've liked to be rid of Arenado's contract with the third baseman sent to Houston, he earned the right of a no-trade clause through his play with both Colorado and St. Louis. Arenado is one of the best defensive third basemen of his era, and even entering his age-34 season should provide some value there and at the dish with an improved approach.
“I feel like there’s not a lot of outside pressure on us,” Arenado said. “Last year, there was a lot of pressure because it was how do we change the narrative that we’re not good? That we’re not the ’23 team. And going into ’23, it was how do we be good without Yadi (Molina) and Albert? There is really no narrative this year. It’s let’s see what we got — and we should. That should be the mindset. Let’s see what we got. Let’s see what we can do together.”
With this group in particular, Arenado is a veteran presence and locker room leader. There is a lot the Cardinals young stars can gain from his presence in the lineup every day, even if Mozeliak and Chaim Bloom don't want ownership to pay for it.