Nolan Arenado Hopes Adjustments Help to Regain Hitting Prowess

The All-Star third baseman is working hard to get back to being a productive hitter

Sep 20, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) hits a one run single against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The fact that Nolan Arenado has struggled on offense the last couple of years is well-known to all who follow MLB closely. He is coming off a year in which he hit .237 with just a .666 OPS and 12 homers in 107 games.

That is a far cry from his career .282 average and .846 OPS. Arenado has 353 career homers but has hit just 28 combined over the last two seasons.

Arizona Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen spoke about his newly-acquired third baseman shortly after the trade from the St. Louis Cardinals that brought him to the D-backs. He expressed confidence that the eight-time all-star was a good rebound candidate.

"Last year, I'm sure, didn't go as well as he had wanted it to," Hazen said. "We definitely see the ability to bounce back here. We're excited about that. We know how much work he's going to put into that."

Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Arenado answered questions from the Arizona media. He openly addressed his struggles at the plate, what he's been doing and what he plans to do in order to turn things around.

"I know the last few years haven't gone the way I wanted. I obviously dealt with some injuries and different things," he said.

Arenado spent 47 days on the injured list last year with a strained right shoulder. Despite that, he emphasized that he still has high expections of himself on the offensive side of the ball. He believes playing Chase Field will be a help to him.

"When the Diamondbacks are good, the environment gets pretty electric, which is always kind of fun. The batter's eye is always great, it's a huge batter's eye. So it obviously feels better to hit there."

Arenado had already been hard at work on adjustments before the trade, and as soon as he could, he spoke with the Diamondbacks hitting coaches.

"I think some of the adjustments I'm trying to make, and the adjustments that I've talked with the hitting coaches already about are going to pay dividends down the line," he said.

Arenado is focused on adjustments that will help him get back to being able to pull the ball with more authority.

He said he's looking to "quiet my head, see the ball better, and hopefully create space for me to work out front again. That's when I'm at my best is when I'm pulling the ball out front."

Diving into the numbers a bit, Arenado's overall pull percentage in 2025 was identical to his career average, 30%. And he was very effective when he put the ball in play to the pull side, batting .450 with an .807 slugging percentage. Pulling the ball has always been a strength. For his career he's hit .442 with a 1.411 slugging to the pull side.

What changed last year was that the bottom fell out in his ability to garner base hits and drive the ball when hitting it up the middle or to opposite field. For those balls in play Arenado hit just .190 with a paltry .260 slug.

In fact, Arenado has just one opposite field homer in his last six seasons. That said, for his career on balls up the middle and to opposite field he's hit a combined .290 with a .444 slugging. See below table for the 2025 and career breakout details. Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Nolan Arenado Stats by Batted Ball Direction | Jack Sommers

Arenado must do one of two things, or a combination thereof if he's going to bounce back: increase his pull percentage above 30%, and/or improve his quality of contact when going up the middle and to opposite field.

Time will tell if he's able to make the necessary adjustments. He turns 35 on April 16. Whether or not he can turn back the clock remains to be seen.