SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Nolan Arenado plops down on a bench in the back fields of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ spring training complex, takes off his cap, wipes the perspiration from his forehead, and breaks into a slow, expansive smile.
Sitting just a few hundred yards from the complex where his career first started with the Colorado Rockies, this is home now, perhaps for the duration of his career.
He has found peace.
No more trade rumors.
No more trade requests.
No more venting his frustration with the front office.
Home sweet home, just a five-hour drive from where he grew up in Orange County, California, and about a 20-minute drive away from where he and his wife, Laura, just purchased a new home in the Scottsdale area, with their two young kids (3-year-old daughter, Levi, and 4-month-old son, Beau).
“I’m so much more relaxed now," Arenado tells USA TODAY Sports. “I mean, obviously, the last year or two, we kept hearing that you’re going to be traded and stuff. Now, to finally have some clarity, it feels good. Really, it feels great.
“I’m thankful for the Diamondbacks to have interest in me. Now, my goal is to hold up my end of the bargain on that and take care of business."
The irony with Arenado’s arrival in Arizona is that his fate directly hinged the last two winters on Alex Bregman’s decisions.
Arenado was supposed to be taking over for Bregman a year ago as the Houston Astros’ third baseman. Bregman was a free agent, the Astros refused to raise their offer, and reached out to the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire Arenado in December 2024. The deal was done, but Arenado, who had a full no-trade clause, vetoed it.
“Listen, I respect Houston, I respect that team and who they are," Arenado says. “But at the time, I was hesitant, because they had just traded Kyle Tucker. And Bregman wasn't coming back. I just didn't know what direction they were going.
“It was nothing more than that."
The Los Angeles Angels called that winter, too, knowing that Anthony Rendon wouldn’t be healthy, but Arenado had no interest. He wanted to be on a contender, not a team that hasn’t had a winning season in a decade.
Arenado informed the Cardinals that if they could work out a deal with either the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres or Philadelphia Phillies, he would accept it. He kept holding out hope until spring training that the Red Sox would reach out; he expected to be their fall-back plan, but Bregman wound up signing a three-year, $120 million contract with two opt-outs with Boston, leaving Arenado in St. Louis.
Arenado, who had the worst season of his career last year, still was hoping to be gone at the July 31 deadline. No one showed interest. He played in only 11 games after the deadline with a strained right shoulder and finished the season hitting just .237 with 12 homers, 52 RBI and a .666 OPS in 107 games. He looked like a shadow of himself, a guy who finished third in the MVP race in 2022 with 30 homers, 103 RBI and an .891 OPS.
When the 2025 season ended, and Chaim Bloom replaced John Mozeliak as the Cardinals’ new president of baseball operations, he informed Arenado they were going into a full-scale youth movement and would do everything possible to trade him during the winter.
The Padres eventually reached out, received Arenado’s blessing that he’d leave his third baseman’s glove at home and move to first base, but they failed to work out a deal to the Cardinals’ liking. The Athletics expressed strong interest, but sorry, they are playing at a Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento, and Arenado had no interest in potentially finishing his career in a minor-league stadium.
So, once again, he waited on Bregman, who also was drawing interest from the Diamondbacks. Bregman wound up leaving Boston and signed a five-year, $175 million deal with the Chicago Cubs. Arenado waited on the Red Sox to call. They never did.
The Diamondbacks, with Bregman off the board, reached out, offered the Cardinals an eighth-round draft pick who hadn’t thrown a professional pitch, made the Cardinals pick up $31 million of the remaining $42 million in Arenado’s contract, and Arenado approved the deal in January.
“It’s hard when it gets out in the public that this team or that team was interested, and I said no," Arenado said. “Well, they were never on my yeses to begin with, you know? So, it makes it hard."
Arenado already is hearing it from Athletics’ fans this spring.
“The A's are going to carve you up."
“We didn’t want you in the first place."
“I’m like, don’t take it personal," Arenado said. “They were never on my (approval) list anyway. I needed time to really think about that one, but the other two (San Diego and Arizona), I told Chaim if he could work out a deal, I’d go.
“I just didn't want to go through what I went through last year.
“I wanted to get this over with."
Now, here he is, the eight-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, six-time Platinum Glove winner, five-time Silver Slugger, burning to prove he’s still got it, turning 35 years old in April.
He’s not carrying a Gold Glove-sized chip on his shoulder for everyone who showed no interest, or even Team USA, which chose Bregman over him to be the starting third baseman in the World Baseball Classic after he had played the previous two times. But Arenado has something to prove to himself.
“I know I’ve had a couple of tough years," Arenado says, “but this team believes in what I can do. And that’s helped me get me excited for the confidence they have in me. It’s already a top-10 lineup, and I think I can make it better.
“I'm hopeful that they can bring out the best of me."
Arenado, who used to work out in Diamondbacks World Series hero Luis Gonzalez’s backyard batting cage when he first came up with the Colorado Rockies — finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting for five consecutive seasons — knows he can find it again.
He’s almost 35, not 55.
He still feels fresh, healthy, and is rejuvenated.
“You know, it disappoints me that I didn't play the way I expected to in St Louis the last couple years," Arenado says. “But, you know, it's baseball. I'm learning about my body. There's some things changing.
“I'm getting a little bit older, I’ve just got to take care of business a different way. There's all those little things that I wish I would have nipped in the bud a little earlier in St Louis.
“I loved playing every minute in St. Louis. Their fans are unbelievable. They are so supportive. They have high expectations. I just wish I could have played better for them."
Now, with a new workout routine, he believes there’s no reason he can’t resemble the same dude who terrorized the NL West when he played with the Rockies. Certainly, if he didn’t believe he could be a star again, he wouldn’t have accepted manager Yadier Molina’s offer to play for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.
Arenado played with Molina, the future Hall of Fame catcher, in St. Louis. He was still planning to say no, since he never got a call from Team USA, but his family, particularly his mom who’s from Puerto Rico, persuaded him to do it. His entire family plans to be in Puerto Rico for the first round, giving Arenado a chance to see the beautiful island for the first time in his life.
“I wanted to play for USA again, but I didn’t get the call," Arenado said. “Honestly, I didn’t deserve the call. And when Yadi called me about it, I felt a little hesitant about it because I played on USA, and I was recovering from a shoulder surgery. But my mom really wanted me to do it, and my family kept telling me to do it."
The original plan was for Arenado to play first base for Team Puerto Rico with Carlos Correa at third base. But after Correa couldn’t get the insurance to play in the WBC, Arenado will once again be back in his customary position.
“I love it, for me, selfishly, it's the energy," Arenado says. “It gets you mentally ready for the season. Obviously, the stakes are high right away, which is tough, but it brings that intensity. It brings the focus that you only get when opening day of the season starts. I really think it’s beneficial."
It will be Arenado’s final WBC, he says, but he has plenty of other lofty goals in mind. He has two years remaining on his contract, but with a strong finishing kick, he could erase any doubts that he deserves to be standing behind a podium in Cooperstown one day. He has 353 homers, 1,184 RBI and an .846 OPS, to go along with his 10 Gold Gloves. He has more Gold Gloves, All-Star appearances, and homers than Scott Rolen, the last third baseman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame two years ago.
“I try not to look that far ahead," Arenado says, “but I still feel like I do have good game left in me. I still feel like I can express it and do it now. For how long? I don't know. I’ve got two years left. I don't know if I want to play past two years, but if I take care of the business the way I know I can, or I feel I can, I could see myself playing a little bit longer.
“But, I do expect to perform well on both sides of the ball again.
“I expect to help this team win.
“And I expect to be a complete player again."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nolan Arenado has plenty to prove in 2026 MLB season after trade
