Halfway through his contract, has Nolan Arenado shown to be worth the Cardinals’ investment?

On February 1, 2021, the St. Louis Cardinals made a franchise-altering decision that was aimed to return the Cardinals back to their winning ways. In a blockbuster move, the Cardinals acquired future Hall of Famer Nolan Arenado in a five-for-one trade. Not only known by Cardinals and Rockies fans, but every fan in Major League Baseball knows that this is one of the all-time great heists in the game. The Cardinals acquire the best third baseman in baseball and arguably all-time…AND $50 million dollars!? This was an automatic win.

Much time has passed since then. 2021 ended in absolute heartbreak in the 2021 NL Wild Card Game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Arenado did not contribute at the plate in this game and it’s safe to say no player did on the Cardinals. Arenado was not his true self in his first season in St. Louis. He ended the year with a slash line of .255/.312/.494 (.807 OPS, 119 OPS+) with 34 2B, 34 HR and 104 RBIs (4.0 WAR). Normally that is a good season and any team would want this from their players. But this was a negative sign to see from Arenado who was in his first season in St. Louis with six more to follow.

2022 has been the highlight of Nolan Arenado’s Cardinals career and possibly his entire career. He finished 3rd in MVP voting only behind Manny Machado and his own teammate Paul Goldschmidt who ended up winning the award. The Cardinals had the best 1-2 punch in baseball, the team was balanced with youth and veterans which took them to the postseason as a serious underdog, and Albert Pujols rejuvenated his career as a serious threat in the lineup.

This was the season that the Cardinals FO envisioned when they traded for Goldy and Arenado and developed their young talent. Arenado slashed a .293/.358/.533 (.891 OPS, 151 OPS+) with a 7.7 WAR which is his career high. With the most hype in a long time riding behind this team going into October, it ended in disappointment again. Arenado did nothing at the plate yet again in the postseason and he even made a crucial error in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Round. The Phillies bounced the Cardinals in two games and fans to this day are left in shock. This was not a storybook ending.