The calendar is ready to flip to March, and Nolan Arenado and the St. Louis Cardinals’ odd holding pattern shows no signs of changing anytime soon. The Cardinals have every incentive to want to move on from their star third baseman, hoping to free up playing time for their bevy of younger infielders while also getting out from under Arenado’s deal, which has three years remaining. Arenado, for his part, has a full no-trade clause in his contract and has every motivation to ensure that if he does uproot his family and relocate, he does it in a place he wants to reside and for a team that can regularly compete.
Of course, the few teams that meet Arenado’s specific criteria aren’t interested in acquiring him, either because they already have corner infielders (Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets), because they can’t afford it (San Diego Padres), or a combination of both (New York Yankees). The Houston Astros, the one team that appeared to check all the boxes, were on Arenado’s list until they weren’t.
So here we are: Cardinals president John Mozeliak doesn’t want Arenado around, and Around doesn’t care. While it’s understandable that Arenado isn’t thrilled about being dealt anywhere, and he has the contractual right to decide his own future, he hasn’t been the most accommodating throughout this process, whether it’s pulling a bait and switch on Mozeliak during negotiations with the Astros in December or his willingness to sell his front office out upon arrival in spring training. However, this is not the first time Arenado has faced off with a top boss.
John Mozeliak is just the second lead executive to clash with Nolan Arenado
In fact, the same type of dysfunction led Arenado to St. Louis in the first place. The third baseman believed to have made a lifetime commitment to the Colorado Rockies, signing an eight-year, $260 million contract extension with the organization in February 2019. It didn’t seem funny at the time, given that the Rockies had just made their second consecutive postseason berth and had won 91 games the previous year.
However, Arenado’s relationship with the team quickly soured. More specifically, General Manager Jeff Bridich and Arenado. Colorado struggled during the 2019 season, and as Arenado watched friends and coworkers go, including fellow infielder DJ LeMahieu, he began to wonder what he had signed up for. And he wasn’t hesitant to say it, calling Bridich out for “disrespect.” It was unclear whether Arenado would ask out that winter, and he declined to say whether he had requested a trade when he arrived for spring training.
On the one hand, it’s hard to blame Arenado for questioning Colorado leadership, given what’s occurred to the team in recent years (though that’s not on Bridich, who resigned in April 2021). But it’s also reasonable to wonder if Arenado was truly concerned about the guys he was close to losing; while LeMahieu had a fantastic season and a half with the New York Yankees, his contract has since expired. Arenado is an outstanding player, and no one has ever questioned his on-field professionalism or work ethic. However, he has a clear vision for how a baseball team should operate, and he is not afraid to speak up in support of that vision. Colorado might have warned St. Louis about that ahead of time, but they’ve found out for themselves eventually.
