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Something had to change. That much Nolan Arenado knew.
The Diamondbacks' veteran third baseman, coming off a 2025 season in which he compiled a career-low .666 OPS with St. Louis, started off the 2026 season in even worse fashion. After a game in Philadelphia on April 11, Arenado's slash line stood at .167/.184/.188.
It wasn't the impression that Arenado hoped to make, following an offseason trade from the Cardinals.
"It was just tough, because I was just like, man, this is not the way I want to come to this new team," Arenado said.
The following night, manager Torey Lovullo pinch-hit for him, something that is not easy for a decorated player to experience 13-plus years into his career.
It was around that time that Arenado sat down with the team's hitting coaches to try to map out a new way forward. The consensus was that the 35-year-old needed to change his pregame hitting routine.
Asking a player to change his routine -- especially one that has served him well for more than a decade -- is not easy, but Arenado knew it and remembered the advice he got from Cardinals legend Albert Pujols during the 2025 season.
"'You're going to have to make a drastic change at some point,'" Arenado said Pujols told him. "'Because your routine is not working.' It was hard to hear that. But he was truthful, and he was right."
Arenado got to play with Pujols during his final season in 2022 and saw how Pujols changed his routine and found success after some down seasons.
Like Arenado, Pujols used to hit flips and off a tee before going on the field to take batting practice. But as his career wound down, Pujols found he had to challenge himself more with his pregame routine.
That meant intense work with the pitching machine -- high velocity, different angles, angles far more severe than he'd see in a game. Enough, in other words, to make him uncomfortable.
"This is the only way I can get ready," Pujols told Arenado.
Arenado would try it at times, but could never stick with it. Finally in Philadelphia, he decided to commit fully to the new routine.
There would be tee work and high-velocity reps on the pitching machine from tough angles. It would push Arenado and make him so uncomfortable that he'd be better prepared for game action.
"Now, I guess that's what I have to do, too," Arenado said. "You know, if 'The Machine' [Pujols' nickname] had to do it, I've got to do it, too."
From April 12 through Sunday's game, Arenado slashed .329/.402/.592 and has steadily risen in the Arizona batting order.
"The hitting coaches really believed that it was going to come together, and it was a matter of time before it happened," Lovullo said. "And you know, since mid April, he's been really consistent with the swing plane. He's been really consistent [recognizing] balls and strikes."
The results are welcome validation for Arenado, who never lost faith in himself but admitted some doubt crept in earlier this year.
"I mean, there's part of you that's like, 'I hope this isn't who I am,'" Arenado said. "But there was an adjustment to be made, and I knew that. I just couldn't find it. I was constantly searching."
For now, the search is over, and Arenado and the Diamondbacks are reaping the rewards.