Dodgers Target Nolan Arenado Arrived to Cardinals Camp, Addressed Trade Rumors

Sep 24, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Chris Taylor (3) forces St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) out at second base in the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had an offseason so extreme, that really no moves are off the table.

As the league hopelessly watches the Dodgers make their acquisitions and improve a team that is coming off its' eighth World Series in franchise history, players may find themselves hoping to be a part of the next signing the L.A. front office orchestrates.

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This is the case with longtime Dodgers trade target and current St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado. The veteran infielder has been linked to L.A. for a few reasons.

Arenado grew up about an hour from Dodger Stadium in Newport Beach, has made two cryptic Instagram posts related to the Dodgers this offseason, and even vetoed a trade that would have sent him to the bitter rival Houston Astros in mid-December.

About two weeks before vetoing the trade, Arenado posted photos of mostly himself with family members on his Instagram account featuring the song "dodger blue" by Los Angeles-based rapper Kendrick Lamar.

Two of the 12 photos featured Arenado at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Crypto.com Arena, home of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers.

The newest post, made earlier this month, featured no commentary, no song, but instead a video of MLB veteran Manny Ramírez hitting a home run while he was playing in Cleveland. However, Ramírez enjoyed three seasons of his 19-year career playing for the Dodgers.

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It appears that the drama-filled offseason for Arenado is coming to a close as he has recently reported for spring training as a member of the Cardinals. He spoke to the media upon his arrival.

“I’m back and I’m ready to go play ball,” Arenado said to media including 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.”

As fun as it would have been for fans to finally see the longtime divisional rival on the squad, at least for the moment, the 10-time Gold Glover appears to be locked in with St. Louis.

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