Cardinals takeaways: 3 changes Nolan Arenado has made in strong start to season

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ST. LOUIS — Fresh off hammering his sixth career walk-off home run on Saturday afternoon, Nolan Arenado succinctly summed up the early theme of the St. Louis Cardinals’ season.

“We’re not built for easy,” Arenado said. “But we are tough.”

You can say that again. The Cardinals took the three-game series against the Brewers, though they fell 7-1 in the finale on Sunday afternoon. It was the first game they’ve lost by more than three runs since the Pirates beat them 8-4 on April 7. Similar to last year, the Cardinals have one of the smallest margins of victory in baseball: St. Louis has played 28 games, and 18 of them have been decided by three runs or fewer.

Still, the club’s 12-16 record leaves much to be desired.

The Cardinals have not made for the most relaxing ball, but they at least entertain. Arenado provided plenty of theatrics over the weekend, saving the game with a defensive gem on Friday night and winning the game with a solo shot in the ninth inning on Saturday.

The focus on this year’s team will continue to be player development and the future core, and understandably so. But St. Louis still has one of the best third basemen in the game on its roster. So far, the team is seeing a better version of Arenado than the one from the past two seasons.

What’s led to this? Changes offensively, defensively and, most essentially, mentally have helped Arenado’s strong start. Let’s take a closer look at all three.

A better approach at the plate pays off

Trevor Megill’s first pitch to Arenado on Saturday was a 99 mph fastball off the plate called for a ball. The second pitch came in a tick down at 98 mph, in on the hands. It was a pitch that Arenado later admitted he would not have gotten to last season.

But this season, he got all of it.

Arenado pummeled Megill’s four-seamer 385 feet to left for a walk-off home run, giving the Cardinals a 6-5 win. It was a textbook Arenado pull-side homer: a 102.5 exit velocity and 29-degree launch angle just inside the third base-side foul pole. It was also a swing that Arenado spent much of last season searching for. When asked if he would have had the same result in 2024, he didn’t hesitate.

“With the moves I was making last year, absolutely not,” Arenado said. “I was not in a good place last year. I don’t like thinking about it. But this year I’ve had a lot of help working on the right things.”

NOLAN ARENADO CALLED GAME OVER!!! pic.twitter.com/FKmRldc6Bh

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 26, 2025

That work is showing. Arenado entered play Sunday hitting .260 with a .438 slugging percentage and a .798 OPS. While his average is slightly down compared to last year’s April (.272), the slug and OPS are up significantly. In 2024, Arenado finished April with a .351 slugging percentage and a .687 OPS — two of the lowest monthly marks in his career. One explanation for this is his pitch selection. Arenado has one of the best strikeout rates in baseball. His 6.4 percent strikeout rate ranks in the 99th percentile in the majors. He also has an 18.8 percent whiff rate and a 12.8 percent walk rate, all of which rank in the top quarter.

“When I keep my posture and I don’t over-stride, usually good things happen,” Arenado said.

Easier said than done, as Arenado knows, but the early returns on his new approach at the plate have been encouraging. He ranks among team leaders in doubles (eight, second-most), RBI (12, third) and hits (25, third). His steady presence has helped stabilize a young offense that looks improved from last year but is still searching for consistency.

Defense isn’t too shabby, either

It should come as no surprise that Arenado’s defense is still elite. He is a 10-time Gold Glove Award winner, after all. But the 34-year-old continues to impress at the hot corner, and his instinctual play in the eighth inning Friday saved a game for St. Louis.

With one out, runners on the corners and the Cardinals clinging to a 3-2 lead, Sal Frelick’s chopper to shortstop looked like it would tie the score. But Arenado surged in from third base to cut off the groundball and fired a dart to home to nab Jackson Chourio, who was running on contact. Arenado did this despite his momentum taking him away from the play and said later that his instincts simply took over.

“One guy makes that,” manager Oli Marmol said after the game. “He made it tonight. … I didn’t think he was going to come home with it. The way he turned his body to throw home, unbelievable play.”

Yeah Nolan Arenado is still incredible at third pic.twitter.com/MWBF7VI3qx

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 26, 2025

Arenado’s defense nose-dived in 2023, the first season in which he did not win the National League Gold Glove at third base since he debuted. It was remarkably better in 2024, where he recorded 103 putouts and led the league with a .977 fielding percentage and finished as a Gold Glove finalist. That trend has continued through the first month of this season.

Though Arenado has cemented himself as one of the best third basemen of his generation, he’s far from settling. His pitchers appreciate his efforts as well.

“I enjoy watching him work,” Sonny Gray said. “I enjoy being around him. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him. He takes pride in what he does. … He wants to be great, he is great, but he isn’t content. I can learn a lot by watching him do that, because I want the same thing. He wants to continue to get better and to continue to strive to perform at a high level.”

A change in mindset also helps

Beyond his strong play, Arenado’s revitalized outlook has been just as critical. Both the team and the player have done a commendable job of ensuring the offseason drama of Arenado’s failed trade saga did not bleed into the regular season. It would not be unusual for the relationship to sour, especially after the Cardinals spent months publicly expressing their attempts to offload one of their best players. Instead, Arenado has honed in on his work and left the “what ifs” behind.

“There has been zero distraction when there could have been,” Marmol said. “As soon as he showed up (to spring training), he made it known that he was here to work and going to be the best version of myself and for the guys, and he’s done that. You look at how he’s gone about his business both defensively, offensively. … He’s done a phenomenal job. At the end of the day, he’s a pro and he has shown to be every bit of that.”

Arenado agrees that a change in mindset has been helpful, if not necessary. It wasn’t easy given his everyday intensity, but the shift in his mental game led to a better performance.

“He’ll tell you that,” Marmol said. “He’s in a better spot, not only physically — that’s showing — but the way he’s moving around third, the way he’s taking his at-bats, he’s in a different spot. But he’s also in a different spot mentally, and I think it’s freed him up to just be himself and go play.”

“Mentally, I just feel like I’m in a much stronger place,” Arenado said. “I’m just focusing on doing my job and helping this team win, and blocking out the uncontrollables.”

In a season focused on youth and the future, it will be fair to question if Arenado remains a Cardinal, and if so, for how long. But with one month of the season now in the books, the Cardinals will gladly take this version while they have him and hope it leads to more wins in May.

(Photo: Jeff Le / Getty Images)

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