Jul 25, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) celebrates with first baseman Willson Contreras (40) after the Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Cardinals' Nolan Arenado Expresses Desire To Return After Long Absence

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Curt Bishop | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 4:00 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals playoff hopes are slim as the final weeks of the 2025 regular season approach. They are 4 1/2 games back of the final National League Wild Card spot and 17 games back of first place in the NL Central. A lot needs to go right for St. Louis to even come close to reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2022. They have been playing a couple of men down lately.

Alec Burleson returns from the injured list on Monday and Willson Contreras will be back from his suspension the following day. Nolan Arenado has been down since August 1 nursing a shoulder injury, but he'll begin a rehab assignment this week.

The veteran third baseman has expressed a desire to return this season, even with St. Louis well out of the race.

Nolan Arenado Expresses Desire To Return In 2025

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

"I would like to be sure that I’m healthy and be on the field for at least a few weeks, (to end) the season,” Arenado told Katie Woo of The Athletic. “I just don’t want to just sit out the whole thing, I don’t think that’s good. Just want to get healthy, come back and finish strong."

Arenado has struggled this season at the plate, hitting .235/.294/.366 with 10 home runs, 43 RBI and a .660 OPS. He had been dealing with finger and shoulder issues in July and tried to play through them, but only caused further pain which led to his stint on the injured list.

The Cardinals were sellers at the trade deadline, so getting Arenado back won't make much of a difference at this point in the year, but he'll hope to at least finish the year strong and possibly boost his trade value for the offseason, as St. Louis is not expected to contend in 2026.

The Cardinals acquired Arenado from the Colorado Rockies back in January of 2021, hoping to build a World Series contender around him and Paul Goldschmidt. Unfortunately, the Cardinals have only played three playoff games with Arenado and have lost all three.

Despite his offensive struggles, the eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glover has at the very least remained an elite defensive third baseman, and that could boost the Cardinals a little bit when he does eventually make his return from the injured list.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: