TORONTO — Following Cardinals rookie infielder Thomas Saggese bashing his first home run in the major leagues, less than a week after his promotion from Triple-A Memphis, one of the players he talked with in the dugout with his adrenaline rush just wearing off was star third baseman and cornerstone Nolan Arenado.
At the start of spring training this winter, Arenado characterized the young players as having “overran†the clubhouse in 2023. Even though he prefaced those statements with the caveat “I don’t mean this in a bad way,†it sounded to some like a knock at the club’s influx of young players still developing on the fly in the majors.
Arenado has seen his production drop this season, which has made this an extremely frustrating year, but he’s also made it a point to embrace his leadership role and foster stronger relationships with his younger teammates as a veteran now in his 12th MLB season. At times this season, he has referenced feeding off the energy from the team’s young players.
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Before Saturday’s game, Arenado discussed the importance of developing relationships with the younger players on the roster and making himself and his experience available to the Cardinals’ emerging core while also dealing with his least-productive season in the big leagues.
Asked how his approach to young players has changed this season, particularly in light of the perception of his comments from spring training, Arenado said, “First off, I would say that what I said, definitely, got misinterpreted, but you know you can’t win those battles. You’ve just got to be careful with what you say. I made a mistake in that aspect, because that’s not what I meant. People ran away with that in a negative way, which it wasn’t. There’s nothing I can do.â€
“At the end of the day, I haven’t changed much,†Arenado said. “I just try to spend time with my teammates. You want to get to know them, who they are. When you get to know them, where they came from, then you have an idea and you feel comfortable talking to them and being honest with them. That’s what we have to get to. We have a lot of young guys, and you’ve got to get to know them. Everyone is different. You can’t talk to everybody the same way. You’ve got to get to know them.â€
The Cardinals had large stretches last season when about half the position players on the roster were still within their first three seasons of big-league service.
They’ve had similar stretches this season when injuries sidelined starting catcher Willson Contreras, leading to a tandem of rookies in Pedro Pages and Ivan Herrera joining rookie starting shortstop Masyn Winn as regulars in the everyday lineup to go along with a group of youngsters that includes Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Michael Siani and Jordan Walker.
When Arenado first came up to the majors as a rookie with the Colorado Rockies, the dynamic was very different.
“Totally different, drastically different — to be honest,†Arenado said. “I came up with guys like Todd Helton, (Troy Tulowitzki), (Michael) Cuddyer, (Justin) Morneau, guys that had played in the game a long time, been MVPs and done great things.
“I had to mind my business a little bit. I had to prove myself, and I had to really earn their respect. It was their clubhouse, and I knew that going in.â€
The Cardinals made it a priority to add veteran voices to their clubhouse this offseason in part because of some of the input they got from veteran mainstays such as Paul Goldschmidt and Arenado.
They signed veteran position players Matt Carpenter and Brandon Crawford as well as veteran starting pitchers Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn.
Even with the veteran additions, the young players have played prominent roles this season and figure prominently in the club’s future. Arenado is aware of that, and he’s hopeful that forming better connections with the young players helps him serve as a positive influence.
“Listen, I play the left side with Masyn and we have to get comfortable with each other,†Arenado said. “There’s no other way around it. I want to get along with him. I want to get on the same page as him and feel comfortable sharing my thoughts about him at short when I’m a third and say some things.
“That’s what we have to get to. We have to get a point where we’re comfortable around each other, and we can let each other know what’s up in a good way, a constructive way and help us win ballgames.â€
A 10-time Gold Glove winner with six Platinum Gloves, eight All-Star selections and five Silver Slugger Awards on his résumé, Arenado surely can have an impact molding the Cardinals’ younger players as they adjust to the majors.
Arenado acknowledged with a laugh that his intensity can come off as “angry†at times, but he added that he wants his young teammates to know they can come to him whenever. That’s also part of the reason he’s sought to get to know them better.
Arenado also feels such a strong responsibility to perform and produce that not playing up to his typical standard has been a factor in his willingness to take on a vocal leadership role.
“It’s hard. I’m disappointed in the fact that these young guys are seeing me at my worst in my career, my worst season,†Arenado said. “I wish they saw me at my best. Regardless of if I’m good or bad, this is a chance to just share things and know that regardless that my season is not going the way I expected or the way I want it to, I’m still working. I’m still trying to show them you don’t stop pushing. You don’t stop playing. You’ve got to go, and you’ve got to push. And just being accessible to them.
“It’s tough. There’s a fine line. There’s times where you feel like you’re not playing well enough to tell people how handle this or to do certain things because you’re not like, ‘I’m not really doing it on a performance side.’ But I think these guys — I’ve gotten comfortable with them enough that they respect me. So I just try to help them out whenever I can.â€
A career .285 hitter who hit 30 home runs or more and collected 100 RBIs or more in seven consecutive full-length major-league seasons (excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season), he’s set to fall shy of all three marks for the second consecutive season.
His 16 home runs this season is his lowest total since his rookie year of 2013 (not included the pandemic-shortened 2020 season). He’s batting .266 with 66 RBIs going into the final 14 games.
“He’s so competitive that when things are going well, at times, he’s just locked into ‘How do I get better in order to help the team,’†Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol explained recently. “I feel like he is doing a great job of — even when things aren’t going his way — ‘How can I get better and help the team and how can I be present in the clubhouse to help others help the team?’ He’s done that well. Credit to him because that’s not easy to do.â€