Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado makes brutally honest 2024 admission

Nolan Arenado provided the heroics for Oliver Marmol and the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. The star third baseman hit a walk-off home run to beat the Milwaukee Brewers. He and Willson Contreras are leading the team’s rebound, but Arenado couldn’t help but compare himself to where he was last season.

Arenado’s bat is leading the Cardinals’ offense so far this season. However, he was humble enough to say after the game that he didn’t think that the 2024 version of him could have hit the walk-off homer, according to KSDK reporter Corey Miller.

“The moves I was making last year, absolutely not,” said Arenado about whether or not he could’ve hit the same pitch last season. “I was not in a good place last year. I don’t like thinking about it, but I don’t think I get to that last year.”

2024 was, to put things nicely, an uncharacteristically bad year for Arenado. His power was far less than his first two years under Marmol, and the team struggled to put runs on the board because of it. In 2025, though, the 34-year-old is having a bounce-back season, on pace to crush his numbers from 2024. This comes after plenty of trade rumors in the offseason, including a trade to the Houston Astros that Arenado vetoed.

A big power season is just what the Cardinals need after losing Paul Goldschmidt. A new era is starting for St. Louis, and they need veterans like Arenado and Contreras to set the example. They might be near the bottom of the National League Central, but a solid winning streak helps them a lot.

Seeing Arenado rebound back to his All-Star self is a great sign for the St. Louis Cardinals moving forward. The team hopes to ride the momentum he gave them on Saturday into a season sweep of the Brewers. If they keep winning, they will prove to the league that they won’t go quietly. And even if they aren’t in the mix, Arenado hitting well should help in any trade talks.