TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — If Nolan Arenado was hoping to showcase himself to a potential suitor, it didn’t quite work out that way.
The St. Louis Cardinals third baseman made the three-hour, cross-state drive to play in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees, among the teams that may be open to acquiring him in a trade. He went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts.
“I didn’t come here for that,” Arenado told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Day 3 of spring training. That wouldn’t be a good day to showcase myself. I’m not ready for that.”
Arenado, on the trade market because of declining production and a contract that will pay him $74 million over the next three seasons, said he was given the option to skip the trip but wanted see friends DJ LeMahieu and Paul Goldschmidt, both Yankees infielders, and an athletic trainer he knows in the area.
He said he wanted to get three at-bats, which kept him in the game for seven innings – another February rarity for a veteran. Arenado struck out on three pitches, lined out to second and whiffed on a 1-2 count.
“My body is ready for it,” he said. “I’m ready for nine. My timing (at the plate) is not.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
