ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado practiced throwing drills and hitting alongside outfielder Lars Nootbaar and designated hitter Matt Carpenter during his first day at spring training on Feb. 16, 2024. Video by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
JUPITER, Fla. — From a defensive standpoint in 2023, Nolan Arenado wasn’t even the best third baseman from his own high school.
He wasn’t even the best defensive third baseman from the roster of the 2019 Rockies.
And in the National League Central, he was statistically worse than the primary starters for all teams except Cincinnati.
“Last year was not fun,†the 10-time Gold Glove winner Arenado said Friday, his first day at Cardinals camp, “so I’ll do everything I can make sure that doesn’t happen again.â€
How bad was his 2023? You’d have to edit the name of a statistic to explain it. Instead of defensive runs saved, Arenado had a lone defensive run saved last season. Singular. And that was in 1,095 innings. High school teammate Matt Chapman had 12 defensive runs saved in 1,213 innings and won the American League Gold Glove. Former Colorado teammate Ryan McMahon had 17 defensive runs saved in 1,103 innings, but he didn’t even win the NL Gold Glove. That went to the NL Central’s Ke’Bryan Hayes, who had 21 DRS in 1,037 innings.
In total, seven third basemen had 900-plus innings at third base and a higher DRS total than Arenado.
And so, for the first time in Nolan’s 11-year career, not only did he not win the Gold Glove, but he wasn’t even a finalist.
Asked Friday to recall his emotions from when the finalists were announced, he said: “Well, I wasn’t really paying attention — I knew I wasn’t going be on there, so I didn’t really care about paying attention to it. I guess it was a mixture of things. It was a mixture of (feeling) kind of sad about it, but also proud of the streak I had. I mean, it was a cool streak. It was 10 years. But I would say that it bothers me that people think I’m not a good fielder anymore, I guess.â€
Wait. Does he truly believe people think that?
“Maybe I’m just twisting it in my mind,†he said.
The perennial All-Star Arenado — like Michael Jordan, famously — looks for motivation anywhere he can find … or even concocts it in his mind. And after talking to Arenado, manager Oli Marmol and outfielder Lars Nootbaar here in Florida, it sure seems like Arenado, forever driven, is somehow cranking it up to “11†… in order to win Gold Glove No. 11.
Perhaps some good came from last year, after all?
Just don’t ask Arenado.
“There’s nothing good about last year,†Arenado said to reporters here. “I mean, not to be rude, but I don’t want to talk about last year. There was nothing good about last year. We’ve got to be better than last year — and we don’t have to be a little bit better, we’ve got to be way better than last year.â€
Arenado’s weird 2023 happened after an off-balanced spring due to the World Baseball Classic, followed by an abysmal offensive and defensive start to the ºüÀêÊÓƵ season, then by some unsuccessful alterations in his defensive workouts. And down the stretch, while his defense improved, per Marmol’s perspective, Arenado’s offensive power declined. All told, Arenado finished with a .774 OPS, his lowest since his rookie year, pandemic season notwithstanding.
Now, I believe Arenado will perform brilliantly in 2024. He’s too prideful. And I don’t think his defensive skills diminished — I just think it was a funky journey through 2023. So, a refreshed and inspired Arenado will play defense at a high level this season and surely crack the .800 mark regarding OPS. And the rise of the lefty bats in the Cards’ lineup, notably Nolan Gorman and Nootbaar, will also help the righty slugger Arenado.
But like he said about his team, Arenado doesn’t need to be just a little bit better, but way better.
“He’s been the best third baseman in the game for a decade, right?†said Marmol, whose Cardinals finished 71-91 in 2023. “… He’s always looking to improve. When you’re talking about him and (Paul) Goldschmidt, these guys have been in the league for a long time, and every offseason, they’re going into it hungry to find out what’s next.â€
Arenado has spent a lot of time working out and fielding with Nootbaar in Southern California. Arenado’s brother, Jonah, even posted a video on social media of his famous bro. It’s from the vantage point of a first-baseman’s glove. Across the diamond, Nolan backhanded a ball at third base and threw a laser to the glove, which remained centered in the video the whole time, even while catching the ball. It was Mahomes-to-Kelce accuracy.
It’s been a winter of discontent as 2023 loomed over Arenado. But now, spring is here.
“That’s just who he is, he’s a worker,†Nootbaar said Friday from camp. “For the first time in his career, he’s felt not taking home the gold. So he’s one of those guys who l think looked himself in the mirror and was like — all right, the league thinks that I’m starting to take a step back, so I’m going to put in the work. Not that he needs to prove anything to anybody, because he’s the greatest third baseman of all-time. But yeah, man — he’s motivated. He took that into the offseason and he worked hard, that’s for sure.â€
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Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado fist bumps with coach Stubby Clapp after taking ground balls on his first day of spring training in Jupiter, Fla., on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024.