In the major leagues last winter, it was popular to cancel the remaining contracts and opt-out to become a free agent. Shortstop Zander Bogaerts (San Diego, 11 years, $280 million), Carlos Correa (Minnesota, 3 years, $105.3 million), and pitcher Carlos Rodon (New York Yankees, 6 years, $162 million) opted out as free agents and signed a new large contract.
Special third baseman Manny Machado (San Diego) did not opt out, but took advantage of this to win a large-scale extension contract. After announcing the exercise of free agency rights after the end of this season, the San Diego Padres gave him an 11-year, $350 million super-large contract extension, and he sat on a money cushion again.
However, not all players followed this trend. Third baseman Nolan Arenado (32), who won the Gold Glove 10 times, did not make free agency himself, even though he had the right to opt out. After finishing the season in October of last year, he remained with the St. Louis Cardinals with an early ‘opt-in’.
Arenado, who signed an eight-year, $260 million contract extension with the Colorado Rockies in February 2019, was traded to St. Louis in February 2021. An additional one-year, $15 million contract was signed as a jogger waiving the no-trade right, which was extended to a nine-year, $275 million contract through 2027. He also included an opt-out clause for two consecutive years from 2021 to 2022.
However, Arenado gave up his opt-out for the second year in a row. In particular, he raised his value by finishing third in the National League MVP last year with a batting average of .293, 163 hits, 30 homers, 103 RBIs and .891 OPS in 148 games in 148 games. I decided to do it. Considering the age of 32, it was the last chance to earn big money, and in the market atmosphere with large contracts, he was able to sign a much larger contract than his remaining contracts.
It was an unexpected choice, but there was a reason. According to the ‘New York Post’ on the 10th (Korean time), Arenado said, “I definitely thought about opting out, but there was a long process before coming to St. Louis. “After two years, he felt it wasn’t right to leave the team,” he said. “I’m happy to be here. I have enough money. Makes a lot more money than most people. I don’t like complaining about money,” he said.
Arenado had a deep conflict with the Colorado team’s leadership before being traded to St. Louis. Arena was also thirsty for a championship, but Colorado’s move was the exact opposite. After a long feud with Colorado, he was traded to St. Louis, a ‘traditional powerhouse’ that seeks to win every year, and played fall baseball for two consecutive years. He didn’t win the World Series, but he is experiencing happy baseball, winning baseball in St. Louis. 안전놀이터
Arenado, a right-handed third baseman who debuted in Colorado in 2013, has a batting average of 2.89, 1,520 hits, 299 homers, 968 RBIs, and an OPS of .881 in 1384 major league 10 seasons until last year. After his debut, he boasts overwhelming defensive power to the point of sweeping the National League Gold Glove third baseman category for 10 consecutive years. He was a silver slugger 5 times and a home run king 3 times, and was also selected as an All-Star 7 times as a great shot. Against Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto), he recorded 16 hits in 31 at-bats, a batting average of 5.16, 4 homers, 4 doubles, 10 RBIs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, and an OPS of 1.591