Cardinals Rumors: Nolan Arenado will not opt out after 2022 season

Another report says that Nolan Arenado will not opt out of his contract with the St. Louis Cardinals after the 2022 season.

When the St. Louis Cardinals traded for Nolan Arenado, it was generally viewed as a coup. They acquired a superstar for a light prospect haul while the Colorado Rockies paid them more than $50 million to acquire Arenado.

But there was one catch: Arenado had opt outs in his contract following the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Arenado, of course, did not exercise the opt-out clause after ’21, but it was viewed as a real possibility that he could exercise it following the ’22 season.

Not so fast.

There have been reports throughout the season that Arenado would not opt out after ’22, and Jon Heyman of the New York Post hears the same. He wrote: “Nolan Arenado is said to love St. Louis so much he will remain with the team despite the opt out. He bought a house there and appreciates having a great relationship with the front office after Colorado. They could alter his deal, but friends say he’s going nowhere.”

There you have it. While that’s not definitive word straight from Arenado’s mouth, it’s the latest indicator that he will remain with the Cardinals for the foreseeable future. It is noteworthy that Heyman mentioned that they could redo his deal — he has five years, $144 million remaining on his current contract — and he could land significantly more than that on the open market.

The likely scenario here is that Arenado opts into his remaining five years in St. Louis and the Cardinals reward him with a new contract. Something along the lines of, say, five years and $180 million ($36 million per season) could be enough incentive, though that’s just me spitballing and nothing more than that.

But it appears that the Cardinals’ future will be headlined by Arenado. Combined with Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neill, Nolan Gorman, Dylan Carlson and the highly-touted Jordan Walker, the future of baseball in St. Louis is in good hands.