Nolan James Arenado (; born April 16, 1991) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). Arenado is widely recognized as one of the best defensive third basemen of all time. He is the only infielder to win the Rawlings Gold Glove Award in each of his first ten MLB seasons. He made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies in 2013 and was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 2021 season. With the Cardinals, Arenado and teammate Paul Goldschmidt became a highly-regarded infield duo, each of them being named finalists for the National League MVP Award in 2022. In January 2026, he was traded for the second time in his career, joining the Diamondbacks.
A native of Newport Beach, California, Arenado attended El Toro High School in Lake Forest before becoming the Rockies' second-round selection in the 2009 MLB draft. An eight-time MLB All-Star, his defensive accolades (in addition to his ten Gold Gloves) include four total (and three consecutive) Fielding Bible Awards and three consecutive Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Awards, as well as six consecutive Rawlings Platinum Gloves. Offensively, he is a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner and has twice led the league in both home runs and runs batted in (RBI), and currently leads all major leaguers in RBIs since the start of the 2015 season.
During his minor league career, Arenado was a two-time All-Star Futures Game selection, and led the minor leagues in RBI in 2011 with 155 over 163 total games. In 2016, Arenado became the youngest player in Rockies franchise history to reach 100 home runs. He has hit for the cycle twice: once on June 18, 2017, and again on July 1, 2022. He became the sixth player in history to finish off such a performance with a walk-off home run. In 2017, he became the 11th major leaguer and first third baseman in history to drive in 130 or more runs in three successive seasons.
In international competition, Arenado has represented both the United States and Puerto Rico. Arenado helped Team USA win their first World Baseball Classic (WBC) gold medal in 2017, and additionally earned a silver medal in 2023. For the 2026 tournament, he represented Puerto Rico.
Contents
Early life
Nolan James Arenado was born on April 16, 1991, in Newport Beach, California, and raised in nearby Lake Forest, an Orange County city between Irvine, Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills. His father, Fernando, is of Cuban ancestry, and his mother, Millie, a native of Queens, New York, is of Cuban and Puerto Rican ancestry. He has an older brother, Fernando Jr., and his younger brother, Jonah, was a corner infielder in the San Francisco Giants organization. A first cousin, Josh Fuentes, is an infielder who has played for the Rockies. The two were teammates in 2019 and 2020.
Arenado grew up a Los Angeles Dodgers fan. He attended El Toro High School in Lake Forest, and played shortstop on the school's baseball team with fellow future major leaguers Austin Romine and Matt Chapman. In 2008, Arenado's junior year, El Toro won the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section championship. He was named to the Los Angeles Times' All-Star team after leading his division with a .456 batting average, 32 runs batted in (RBI), and 33 runs scored.
As a senior, Arenado batted .517, .615 on-base percentage (OBP), five home runs (HR), 14 doubles, and a triple, and was again named to the Los Angeles Times' All-Star team. He committed to attend Arizona State University (ASU) on a college baseball scholarship.
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues (2009–12)
The Colorado Rockies selected Arenado in the second round with the 59th overall selection of the 2009 MLB draft. Rather than attend ASU, he signed with the Rockies, and made his professional baseball debut with the Casper Ghosts of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where he batted .300. In 2010, Arenado played for the Asheville Tourists of the Single-A South Atlantic League, where he posted a .308 batting average and 41 doubles.
Before the 2011 season, Baseball America ranked Arenado as the Rockies' third-best prospect and 80th overall. He was highly acclaimed as a hitter, less so as a defender. While playing for the Modesto Nuts of the High-A California League, he began working harder on his defense. While he had previously demonstrated exceptional arm strength and soft hands, they were neutralized by his inept footwork. Arenado later recalled that he "had really bad feet," and "was too lazy," for which Modesto manager Jerry Weinstein relentlessly scolded him. He tasked Arenado to take ground balls earlier than the other players and to move rapidly and precisely and maintain readiness at third base. In addition, Arenado began lifting weights in earnest while pushing himself to improve. The work ultimately gave him a combination of explosive vigor, ingenuity, and finesse that allowed him to cover large areas and make good long and short throws from postures ranging from upright to nearly laying down.
Along with Wilin Rosario, Arenado represented the Rockies at the 2011 All-Star Futures Game. His first-half totals included a .283 batting average with six home runs and 42 RBI. He finished the season with a .298 batting average and 20 home runs, leading the minor leagues with 122 RBI. Later in the year, Arenado was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Arizona Fall League (AFL) after hitting .388 with six home runs and 33 RBI. In 163 games combined in the California League and AFL in 2011, Arenado batted .315 with 201 base hits, 155 RBI, 26 home runs and 44 doubles. Playing for the Tulsa Drillers of the Double-A Texas League in 2012, he was again named to appear in the All-Star Futures Game. Arenado finished the year with a .285 batting average, 12 home runs, and 56 RBI.
Colorado Rockies (2013–2020)
Despite a strong spring training showing in 2013, the Rockies optioned Arenado to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (PCL) to start the season. Through April 28, he batted .364, 1.059 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), three home runs, and 21 RBI with Colorado Springs. At that point, Colorado promoted him to the major league club, and designated Chris Nelson for assignment to make room on the roster.
Arenado went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. He recorded his first three MLB hits in his second game—including his first MLB home run off of pitcher Josh Wall—in a 12–2 win versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his sixth game, he hit his first major league grand slam and second career home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price. Arenado's defensive dominance translated smoothly to the major leagues, as ESPN.com published on September 7 that he would have ranked second for a hypothetical National League (NL) Defensive MVP Award. He trailed only shortstop Andrelton Simmons for the league lead in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), 38–30. He appeared in 133 major league games and slashed .267/.301/.405 with 10 home runs and 52 RBI. Defensively, he led NL third basemen in range factor both per game (3.08) and per nine innings (3.24), and was second in putouts (91), assists (309) and double plays turned (tied with two others with 27).
On October 29, 2013, Arenado became the first NL rookie to win a Rawlings Gold Glove Award at third base, and the first in both major leagues since Frank Malzone won in the American League in 1957. Arenado tied for seventh place with Evan Gattis in the NL Rookie of the Year Award voting which was won by José Fernández with Arenado receiving the most votes as a third baseman.
The first multi-home run game of Arenado's career occurred on April 5, 2014, against Brandon McCarthy of the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 9–4 Rockies win. On May 8, Arenado hit safely in his 28th consecutive game to break the Rockies' franchise hit streak record, which Michael Cuddyer set the previous season. On May 23, Arenado suffered a mallet fracture of his left middle finger on a headfirst slide into second base in a game against the Atlanta Braves, and was subsequently placed on the 15-day disabled list (DL).
Arenado missed 37 games due to the fracture and returned on June 28. He earned his first career NL Player of the Week Award for the week ending August 24. He batted .545 with a 1.645 OPS and 12 hits, three doubles, one triple, two home runs, three RBI, and six runs scored. Due to a chest contusion and early onset pneumonia, Arenado missed additional time at the end of the season. On the year, he batted .287/.328/.500, hitting 18 home runs and driving in 61 runs. He won his second Gold Glove Award despite playing in just 111 games.
St. Louis Cardinals (2021–2025)
On February 1, 2021, the St. Louis Cardinals acquired Arenado from the Rockies along with $51 million in exchange for Austin Gomber, Mateo Gil, Tony Locey, Elehuris Montero, and Jake Sommers.
Arenado hit his first home run as a Cardinal on March 29 at Great American Ball Park in a 9–6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He hit his first home run at Busch Stadium as a Cardinal in the team's home opener on April 8, a go-ahead two-run homer in a game in which the Cardinals won 3–1 over the Milwaukee Brewers. Arenado was named the National League's starting third baseman at the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Denver. Arenado finished the 2021 season batting .255/.312/.494 with 34 home runs and 105 RBIs. Defensively, he led National League third basemen in putouts (125), double plays (38), and range factor per game (2.66). He won the Gold Glove Award at third base, one of five Cardinals to win that year, an MLB record. His ninth consecutive Gold Glove tied him with Mike Schmidt for the most consecutive awards by a National League third baseman. After the season, Arenado could have opted out of his contract with the Cardinals and become a free agent, but chose to remain with the club.
On April 27, 2022, Arenado was ejected for inciting a bench-clearing brawl against the New York Mets after yelling at Yoan López for throwing near his head, assuming the throw was retaliation for the Cardinals having hit three Mets batters the night before. Arenado received a two-game suspension for the incident, but the suspension was reduced to one game after an appeal. He was named April Player of the Month for the National League after having batted .375 with five home runs, 17 RBIs, 12 extra-base hits and a league-leading 1.125 OPS. He was the first Cardinals third baseman to win the award since Ken Reitz in May of 1977.
Arenado struggled mightily in May, batting .196 during the month. He was able to turn it around in the following months of June and July, batting .309 with 10 home runs and 28 runs batted in.
On July 1, 2022, Arenado hit for his second career cycle in a 5–3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. He hit an RBI triple in the first inning, a two-run homer in the third inning, doubled in the sixth, and in the ninth, singled on a hard-hit grounder that caromed off third baseman Matt Vierling's glove. It was the 17th cycle in Cardinals history. The following game, Arenado hit the first of four consecutive home runs on July 2, 2022, the 11th such occurrence in major league history. Teammates Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carlson each followed suit off starter Kyle Gibson with two outs in the first inning. It was the first time that the Cardinals had accomplished the feat, and the first time that it occurred in the first inning. Arenado later won the game for St. Louis in the ninth inning with his second home run of the game, 7–6, which was also the 5,000th at bat of his career. Arenado was selected to represent the Cardinals at the All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
Arizona Diamondbacks (2026–present)
On January 13, 2026, the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired Arenado from the Cardinals along with $31 million for RHP Jack Martinez, who was an 8th round draft pick in the 2025 MLB draft. Against the Athletics on July 20, he recorded his 2,000th career hit against Jeffrey Springs.
International career
Arenado played for the Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. On March 22, 2017, Team USA defeated the previously undefeated Puerto Rico 8–0 to capture their first-ever World Baseball Classic championship.
Arenado returned to Team USA for the 2023 World Baseball Classic, posting a .385 batting average and a 1.025 OPS through the tournament as the team's starting third baseman. Team USA reached the finals for the second consecutive WBC but fell to Japan by a score of 3–2, finishing as the tournament's runner-up.
In 2026, Arenado played for Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. He was eligible to play for them as his mother has Puerto Rican ancestry.
Player profile
Arenado is exceptionally skilled in range, catching, and throwing, including arm strength and accuracy, even while throwing off-balance. Remarked Denver Post beat writer Patrick Saunders, "In every city I travel, writers, broadcasters, and fans rave about Arenado's magic at the hot corner."
Arenado is known to practice intensely and often. When Rockies manager Bud Black visited him at the campus of University of California, Irvine, in January 2017, Arenado asked to take ground balls at third base. Black marveled, "Very few big leaguers take grounders in January, because here comes February and March, and you're gonna take thousands of them."
He wears an oversized glove to give him more margin for error.
Awards and accomplishments
Records and distinctions
Colorado Rockies' franchise hit streak record of 28 games (May 28, 2014)
Colorado Rockies' franchise record of home runs in six consecutive games (Sep. 1–5, 2015)
Colorado Rockies' franchise record of youngest player to reach 100 home runs (at 25 years, 3 months, 23 days on August 8, 2016)
Major League Baseball's first rookie to win Gold Glove at third base (2013) since 1957
First third baseman in Major League Baseball history to win Gold Glove in each of his first five seasons, six seasons, seven seasons, eight seasons, nine seasons, and ten seasons
Major League Baseball record of 89 extra-base hits in one season by a third baseman (2015)
Statistical achievements
Personal life
Arenado married his high school sweetheart, Laura Kwan, in December 2019. Their first child, a daughter, was born in August 2022.
Arenado's favorite players are Hall of Fame third basemen Adrián Beltré and former Rockies teammate and outfielder Matt Holliday. Arenado apprised that he attempts to mimic Holliday's swing "because he stayed through the ball so much."
Longtime Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully autographed the bat with which Arenado hit his 40th home run of 2016, during Scully's last season of broadcasting, and his final series of calling Dodgers' home games.
Josh Fuentes, Arenado's cousin, has played as a third baseman for the Colorado Rockies.
Formerly, Arenado's agent was Scott Boras. As of November 2015, it was reported as Joel Wolfe of Wasserman Media Group.
Arenado is a Christian. He has a tattoo on his left forearm that says Matthew 19:26.
Arenado has a street named after him in his hometown of Lake Forest, California.