JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado reported to spring training on Sunday, showing up to play for a team that spent much of the offseason trying to trade him.
The eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner is owed $74 million for the next three seasons.
Colorado will pay St. Louis $5 million this year, the final installment of the $51 million the Rockies agreed to pay to offset the $199 million remaining in a nine-year contract worth $275 million to finalize a trade four years ago.
The Cardinals could not move him and his contract, which gives Arenado a full no-trade provision.
“I’m not going to talk about who the teams were because it doesn’t really matter anymore, but so, yeah, there was about five teams, five or so,” Arenado said. “I got a family now and to be willing to pick up my family and move them, it has to be something that is worth it.
“So, that’s kind of why the list was fairly small, and I don’t see myself really changing that list ever.”
Arenado is coming off a season that was not up to his standards, hitting .272 with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs.
President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Wednesday that “the pink elephant” in the room was what the team was going to do with Arenado, and he expected there to be a moment of awkwardness when he arrived for spring training.
Four days later, Arenado showed up a day before position players were due to report.
“We went into this offseason knowing that we were going to try to explore trades, which we did," Mozeliak said. "We didn’t get to the point where he was no longer a Cardinal, so he’s certainly welcome back.
"Simply put, with Nolan on our team, we feel we’re a better team.”
The 33-year-old Arenado has hit .285 over his career with 341 home runs and 1,132 RBIs with the Cardinals and Rockies. His most recent season as an All-Star was 2023.
“I’m excited to get to work," he said. “I’m a ballplayer and I’m really focusing on getting ready for the season.”
Arenado, though, did acknowledge that he wished the Cardinals were committed to contending instead of rebuilding to set the franchise up for success in 2026 and beyond.
St. Louis has not signed any free agents to major league contracts after missing the playoffs for the second straight season following a four-year run of postseason appearances. Four-time Gold Glove first baseman Paul Goldschmidt left as a free agent to sign with the New York Yankees.
“Do I wish the direction was all in? Of course,” he said. “But is this what’s probably best for the Cardinals? Probably.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
FILE - St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado throws to first base in the ninth inning of a baseball game Sept. 25, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
St. Louis Cardinals infielder Nolan Arenado, right, is greeted by manager Oliver Marmol on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, at the team's spring training baseball facility in Jupiter, Fla. (Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
St. Louis Cardinals infielder Nolan Arenado, right, is greeted by manager Oliver Marmol on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, at the team's training baseball facility in Jupiter, Fla. (Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
WADI AD-DAWASIR, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saood Variawa snatched stage eight from South African compatriot Henk Lategan by three seconds after an impressive comeback drive in the Dakar Rally on Monday.
Variawa, only 20 and driving in his third Dakar, started 26th and was in sixth place with 100 kilometers to go in the 483-kilometer loop outside Wadi ad-Dawasir. Then he was third after 414 and second after 448.
For the second straight day Lategan had a stage win ripped from his grasp. On Sunday his Toyota's rear damper broke 30 kilometers from the finish.
Meanwhile, Luciano Benavides became the overall motorbike leader for the first time in his ninth Dakar after winning a second straight stage and gobbling up all 7 1/2 minutes in bonus time for faultlessly opening the way.
Benavides won the stage by 4:50 over KTM teammate and defending champion Daniel Sanders and replaced Sanders atop the overall by 10 seconds going into the two-day marathon stage.
Monday's stage, the longest of the race, had a cocktail of dunes, valleys and rocks but navigation was easier than expected and it turned into a fast, wind-whipped special.
The top five cars — featuring main title contenders Lategan, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mattias Ekström — were less than a minute apart for the first 400 kilometers until Al-Attiyah's navigation error suddenly dropped him two minutes behind.
Thanks to starting nearly an hour after the opener, Ekström, Variawa sneaked through for his second career stage win. The first last year at 19 made him the youngest stage winner in Dakar history.
Variawa, following his father Shameer as a Dakar racer, suffered tire, navigation and mechanical problems on Sunday but got his Toyota back up to 13th overall with the aim of a maiden top-10 finish.
Al-Attiyah's Dacia got about 45 seconds back in the closing section to finish fifth and limit his time losses to remain the overall leader by four minutes over Ekström, whose Ford was third on the stage, and six minutes over Lategan.
Nani Roma fell from third to fourth, 9 1/2 minutes back, and Ford teammate Carlos Sainz was another minute behind. It's the closest top five after eight stages in 26 years.
The motorbikes of Sanders and Ricky Brabec were quicker in real time but the seven-plus minutes in time bonuses for opening the dusty track helped Benavides win by the same margin he did on Sunday, nearly five minutes.
“These last two stages were a little bit more fast and in these conditions I can read the roadbook super, super good and make good decisions,” Benavides said.
He has eight career motorbike stage wins, three behind his brother Kevin, the champion in 2021 and 2023.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Rider Tosha Schareina competes during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Rider Ricky Brabec competes during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz compete with riders David Brock, bottom right, and Fernando Dominguez, top left, during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Romain Dumas and co-driver Alex Winocq compete with riders David Brock, right, and Fernando Dominguez, in the background, during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Saood Variawa and co-driver Francois Cazalet compete during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
