A blockbuster seemed inevitable, with rumors persisting most of the winter that John Mozeliak was looking to trade Nolan Arenado. Rumors reached an all-time high during the Alex Bregman sweepstakes, particularly with Boston before they signed Bregman. Now, there are no rumors, and it's a sure thing that Arenado will open the season with the St. Louis Cardinals.
As these things can sometimes cause awkward tension between the two parties, Arenado clarified that he never formally requested a trade and took the humble approach that he is ready to be as good a player as he can while still a Cardinal. Mozeliak called a meeting with Arenado on Sunday "cordial," which is not much of a surprise, given Arenado's professionalism.
A veteran of the game, Arenado understands baseball is a business and teams need to get younger as time passes. Moving Arenado, whose only wish was to go to a competitive team if moved, would have opened up third base playing time for Nolan Gorman, but now things must be adjusted to account for everybody's at-bats.
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John Mozeliak not the most popular person in the room at St. Louis Cardinals spring training
Arenado is a team guy who stated he is happy to be in Florida for Spring Training and loves seeing the guys on the team. As for Mozeliak, he set out to achieve payroll relief and failed. Arenado has started to decline offensively and defensively over the past two seasons. You can't fault him for trying to brighten the Cardinals' future, but Arenado's perfect attitude makes Mozeliak appear like the bad guy.
"I'm back and I'm ready to go play ball," Arenado said Sunday morning, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I'm a ballplayer, and I'm a Cardinal, until I'm told I'm not. You know what I mean? And that's all there is to it. And I've got a lot of work to do. I've got to be a better ball player, and that's what I'm focused on."
In reality, Arenado's veteran presence on the team is valuable. The Cardinals haven't added anybody on a major league contract this winter. After recording a record of 83-79 a season ago, they may be in line to fall in the standings, with the Brewers still full of talent and the Cubs making strong moves this winter.