St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado reveals the age he'd like to retire at

The Cardinals' MVP candidate has already set his ideal retirement age

With all the hype that is surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals' top prospect Jordan Walker, not enough is being said about MVP candidate and massively underpaid third baseman Nolan Arenado.

After opting back into his contract this offseason, a move that surely cost him tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars, Arenado has been on a tear this spring. Before leaving for the World Baseball Classic this week, Arenado has slashed .571/.571/1.143 with 2 HR and 3 RBI in his 14 at-bats to this point. Arenado is locked in and should be a force for Team USA, and ready to make another MVP run with the Cardinals.

Interestingly enough, after opting in and preparing himself for a long-term push with this Cardinals organization, Arenado told John Denton of MLB.com his plans for retiring, which could come as a surprise to some people.

"I think 38 would be cool. I would like to play until 38, but I definitely don’t want to do 40 like [Adam Wainwright] or Albert [Pujols]. I do want my daughter to see me play, but my eyes are set on 38.”

Arenado will turn 32 in April, meaning by his timeline, he'll look to retire following the 2029 season. That leaves a lot of baseball to be played in his career, so it's not like Arenado is going anywhere soon, but it does show you that he is not interested in hanging around much longer after his best years are behind him.

With how much of a family man Arenado is, this really shouldn't shock anyone. He's as fiery of a competitor as they come, but also knows there is more to life than just baseball. The third baseman's contract with St. Louis is up after the 2027 season, so should he stick to this plan, the Cardinals will need to extend Arenado a few more seasons or allow him to finish his career elsewhere.

In the meantime, Cardinals fans can get excited about watching their two MVP candidates Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt pair up with their new teammate Willson Contreras, top prospect Jordan Walker, and the rest of the St. Louis young core to make a deep run in October this year.