Nolan Arenado puts the Cardinals front office on notice with wildcard comments
Good for him. He didn't come here to be closer to Stan Musial's statue.
Wildcards aren’t exactly participation trophies, but they aren’t something you wish to attain if you’re one of the best baseball players in the game.
When Nolan Arenado agreed to the St. Louis trade last year, it was most likely contingent on one thing in his mind: WINNING. As in, division titles and not some faint, half-baked wildcard berth idea. If he wanted to play for a team that grasped for wildcard entries each season, the nine-time Gold Glove winner could have stayed in Colorado. But he’s here and hungry, something he isn’t going to hide as 2022 reaches its halfway mark here soon.
It’s also something Arenado wanted to make sure the front office-Bill DeWitt Jr, John Mozeliak, and Michael Girsch-understood as the trade deadline starts to round third base for its arrival on Aug. 2. In a conversation with St. Louis Post Dispatch reporter Derrick Goold last night, Arenado expanded on what he sees as acceptable goals at this point in his career and what he sees as less than desirable in regards to playoff seeding.
“I don’t want to win the wild card anymore.” That’s all a Cards fan should read there.
A couple days earlier, in a video supporting Adam Wainwright’s career and recent success-which was posted on the Cardinals team Twitter account-Mozeliak can be heard again preaching a familiar song. Paraphrasing, but it’s more or less, “we get to the playoffs and take our shot.” Fuck that, John. Tell Poppa Billy that more is needed, or else Arenado is walking.
Yes, he will and can walk at the end of the season. The Cardinals may have sweetened his deal over the offseason to convince him NOT to trigger his opt-out clause, but he still has one more after the 2022 season. He can just call his agent and say, “it’s been cool, but this place is dead anyway.”
Disregard what he says to the press in these matters. He will tell Goold and company that he won’t opt out and that he loves it here but when the noise gets real low in October and the season is indeed over, even Arenado won’t be able to silence that heart of hearts chat he will have with his own brain, family, and representation. Even with Paul Goldschmidt and a bevy of young talent, are the Cardinals going non stop at a division title next year? That’s what Arenado wants to know and frankly, he speaks for a whole fanbase in this matter.
What are the Cardinals doing? Spending nearly $60 million on two players (Nado and Goldy) just to see if the wildcard door is still open in September. That’s lame, but it’s also the Cardinals M.O. lately, or what front office Mo is comfortable with moving forward.
I bet Arenado yearns for the older days with Walt Jocketty and Tony La Russa turning and burning on NL Central competition. They wouldn’t be stuck in a tired and boring dogfight with Milwaukee in mid-July; it would be a deal for some Larry Walker type, and boom! The team is off and running.
Here’s what the team acquired in the offseason to support Arenado and Goldschmidt, along with the final season of Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols: Drew VerHagen, currently serving up BP when he’s not throwing curves; Steven Matz, who is rehabbing to come back and be mediocre; Corey Dickerson, whose bat just woke up from a winter flight; and Pujols, who is only truly effective against LHP. Yikes!
Fact: If the Cardinals act softly at the deadline and pass out of the playoffs in the first round again, Arenado will bolt. I just know it.
Fact: If they add a couple pieces, a bat and starter, and make a real push in October, he will stay.
Arenado isn’t a guy who just wants to make big money and play; he wants to win a World Series so bad. More so than playing with his idol, Mr. Pujols. More so than playing in the same place Stan Musial did, which made great copy when he arrived. More so than wearing the shiny birds on the bat.
He’s backing it up with performance this year, already dwarfing his accomplishments in 2021. Arenado is slashing .296/.363/.530 at the plate, with a WAR close to 5.0 before the All Star break. 18 home runs, 21 doubles, 97 hits, and just 46 strikeouts to 33 walks. Oh, and all of that game-saving glove work over at the hot corner. He’s doing his job very well. What will the front office do for him next month?
Improve the team, don’t settle for a wildcard, and go for the division. That’s all your star player is asking you to do. Now, as Sean Connery’s Sean Malone asked Kevin Costner’s Elliott Ness with his dying breath: “WHAT ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO?!
Get busy dealing or get busy losing your Nado, Mr. DeWitt Jr. and your Prez, Moz.
Photo Credit: Jeff Curry/Getty Images