Arenado: a 'no-brainer' to join young, hungry club that's close to home

For Nolan Arenado, the trade that sent him from the Cardinals to the Diamondbacks is a fresh start that also has a homecoming feeling for him.

The Diamondbacks acquired Arenado on Tuesday in exchange for Minor League right-hander Jack Martinez. Arizona also received cash in the deal to offset the money that is owed to Arenado over the next two seasons, with the D-backs responsible for paying him $5 million in 2026 and $6 million in '27.

Arenado expanded the list of teams he would agree to waive his no-trade clause for this offseason. One of the teams he included was the Diamondbacks.

"I mean, it's close to home for me," Arenado said. "I'm from Orange County [Calif.], so it's easy. I got family in Arizona, and I really like this team. They're a good team, they play hard and they're young. But I feel like I could really help this team win ballgames and contribute, and obviously being around good, young, hungry players, I think it just helps me stay young. So it was kind of a no-brainer for me, and I was really excited about it."

The Diamondbacks were equally happy to add the 34-year-old Arenado, who is among the game’s most decorated active players with 10 National League Gold Glove Awards, eight All-Star appointments, six Platinum Glove awards, five Silver Sluggers and three NL home run titles.

Arenado's offensive production has decreased over the past three seasons, but the Diamondbacks feel that he could rebound. Even if he never gets back to the level he once was at, his defense at third and veteran leadership will be well worth the investment.

Unlike his previous stops with the Rockies and Cardinals, Arenado will not be expected to lead the offense. Instead, Arizona will look for him to contribute to a deep lineup that is built around Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno and Geraldo Perdomo.

“We look for him to be a solid offensive contributor for us in our lineup,” Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said. “With the firepower we have at the top of our lineup, we aren’t looking for him to carry the offense. We don’t need him to carry the offense. We need him to solidify and stabilize our defense. That’s a huge component to this. I think it’s a huge value to what he brings to the table. And, you know, what he’s going to do from a leadership standpoint, I’m excited about.”

Arenado's intensity and work ethic are well known in the game. He wasted little time in getting started with his new team.

Hours after the deal became final, Arenado had already talked to manager Torey Lovullo, and he had sent video and exchanged ideas with the team's hitting staff about some mechanical changes he believes will help boost his output at the plate.

"I still have high expectations for myself on the offensive side," Arenado said. "I do on both sides of the ball. I expect to go out there and help this team win on both sides.

"I know the last few years haven't gone the way I wanted. Obviously, [I] dealt with some injuries and different things, but I think some of the adjustments I'm trying to make, and the adjustments that I've talked with the hitting coaches already about, I think they're going to pay dividends down the line here."

The homecoming part of things for Arenado is not just that he lives fairly close by in Orange County, but that he spent eight seasons with the Rockies. Given that the Rockies and Diamondbacks share a Spring Training facility, Arenado will feel right at home this spring.

In addition, because of how often the division rivals faced each other during his time in Colorado, Arenado has played in 151 games at Chase Field. He loves hitting there, as his slash line of .280/.334/.507 can attest.

"I really liked going there," Arenado said of Chase Field. "You know, when the Diamondbacks are good, the environment gets pretty electric, which is always kind of fun. The batter's eye is always great, it's a huge batter's eye, so it obviously feels better to hit there.

"Being in our lineup with these players is going to be great. These guys can all really run. They can steal and hopefully get in scoring position. And if I could do my job, I don't see why I can't be driving these guys in."