Nolan Arenado Reports To Cardinals Camp: "Some Truths & Some Lies Out There"

Nolan Arenado was on the verge of being traded seemingly all offseason long. And the Boston Red Sox were the apparent destination. But spring training has opened for the St. Louis Cardinals, and there was their Gold Glove third baseman trotting out to the field, renewing acquaintances and meeting with the media.

He was obviously asked about the trade rumors, and how he felt about it all.

Nolan Arenado is here and spoke to the media. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/XrkXVUJYzI
— Jim Hayes (@RegionalTVCat) February 16, 2025

"Obviously, there's been a lot going on this season. There was a lot of truths out there, there were some lies out there—I try not to get caught up in it too much. There was a possibility of me getting traded and a possibility of me coming back, and I'm back and I'm ready to play ball."

But when asked if he was happy to be back with a team that was clearly in a rebuild period and not close to being able to contend, he didn't hold back.

"Do I wish the direction was 'all in'? Of course. But is this what's best for the Cardinals? Probably. I do think they need to reshape some things here."

And, in fact, he admits, it was those facts of the Cardinals' direction, that led him to request a trade.

"The Cardinals told me about the direction they were going, then I asked them to explore some things. Nothing was demanded. It was something they were interested in doing also... Did I sit here and think this offseason that I wasn't coming back? No, I knew there was always a chance of me coming back, so I'm prepared to be here."

Arenado turned down a potential trade to the Houston Astros earlier in the winter, as it appeared that he was still hoping for a deal to be worked out with Boston, his preferred destination. But after the BoSox did their own due diligence and after engaging in plenty of trade talks with St. Louis, they wound up signing free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal.

That, according to NESN, "crushed Arenado's hopes" and left him resigned to being back in St. Louis.

“Multiple industry sources described Boston as Arenado’s last legitimate landing place, which is why the Cardinals remained heavily engaged with the club,” The Athletic’s Katie Woo wrote last week. “But when Bregman signed, St. Louis and Arenado saw the writing on the wall.”