Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Superstar Is Starting To Turn Back The Clock

The Cardinals star is starting to heat up...
Patrick McAvoy|
Mar 20, 2018; Jupiter, FL, USA; A St. Louis Cardinals hat with sunglasses sits on a glove in the dugout during a spring training game against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
Mar 20, 2018; Jupiter, FL, USA; A St. Louis Cardinals hat with sunglasses sits on a glove in the dugout during a spring training game against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have one of the best third basemen in recent memory in Nolan Arenado.

Arenado entered the season with a lot of question marks. The 2024 campaign wasn't his best and then the offseason was full of trade rumors. Those carried over into Spring Training and even into the beginning of the 2025 season. But, recently, it has died down.

Arenado is under contract through the end of the 2027 season and at this moment at least seems likely to stick around through the end of the 2025 season. Could some sort of trade happen? Maybe. Nothing can be ruled out. But, he has a no-trade clause and the Cardinals have been better than expected.

If the Cardinals are going to make the playoffs, they will have a much better chance with him rather than without him.

So, how has his season gone to this point? Defensively, he's been fantastic. That isn't shocking, but is a fact. He's in the 86th percentile in outs above average and 72nd percentile in fielding run value but that doesn't tell the whole story. St. Louis arguably has the best defense in baseball and Arenado is right in the center of that. The team even recently made one of the seats on the third base line gold to commemorate him after an insane catch.

Offensively, he's been a little more inconsistent than he has been defensively, but there are reasons to have hope. So far this season, Arenado is slashing .242/.303/.392 with eight homers, 35 RBIs, and 10 doubles in 63 games. He's starting to get hot, though. Over his last seven games, Arenado is slashing .400/.400/.640 with two homers and six RBIs.

If you look under the hood, there are reasons to be excited. He's currently in the 96th percentile in strikeout rate, 84th percentile in whiff rate, and 78th percentile in squared-up rate. His average bat speed is 71.7 miles per hour, which is better than it was in each of the last two years. In 2024, his average bat speed was 70.7 miles per hour. In 2023, it was 71.4 miles per hour. All of this is to say that Areando may be starting to turn a corner and that would be huge for St. Louis.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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