Cardinals: Nolan Arenado is on pace for best season of his career

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado is on pace for best season of his career, putting him squarely in the MVP discussion.

St. Louis Cardinals star third baseman Nolan Arenado is 31 years old, has won nine Gold Glove Awards, made six All-Star teams and has won four Silver Slugger Awards.

And he’s currently on pace for the best season of his career.

In the first 12 games of the season, Arenado is hitting .413/.481/.848 with five home runs, 14 RBI and a whopping 1.329 OPS. Those numbers are not sustainable, of course, but it puts him prominently in the early MVP discussion, an award that he has not won yet in his career. But the buzz that could be on the horizon continues to grow.

“It feels like he’s won one, doesn’t it? Perhaps it’s time,” Will Leitch of MLB.com wrote. “The Cardinals look a little better so far than a lot of pundits predicted, and if Arenado can keep his career year going, and this team can outlast the Brewers in the NL Central, this could be the year Arenado finally wins that honor.”

If Arenado indeed wins the MVP Award, the Cardinals will not just be the favorite to win the division. They would be in the conversation with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants to represent the NL in the World Series. That was a significant part of why the Cardinals acquired Arenado last season. He is one of the rare players who can single handedly change a team and, combined with fellow All-Stars Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill, gives them as good of a chance as any team at winning it all.

Of course, Arenado having a breakout season could increase the chances that he opts out after the 2022 season and becomes a free agent. But that’s a problem for another day. If he leads the Cardinals to a World Series, then that deal will go down as one of the best in franchise history. Quite frankly, it already might be.