Watching the replay on the Chase Field video board, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo wasn’t sure if he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing. Third baseman Nolan Arenado charged a slow roller and appeared to make a barehanded grab with only two fingers and his thumb. That is to say, he was picking it up with his throwing grip.
It was a play Lovullo had never seen made in his 40 years in professional baseball.
“I don’t come close to claiming to know everything, but when I see him do things like that — and it happens often — I just shake my head,” Lovullo said. “I’m grateful to be around him.”
It is a sentiment shared by everyone in the Diamondbacks organization as Arenado nears the end of his first season in the desert — and not just
for his defense. When he was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in January, the Diamondbacks thought they were getting a strong defender and clubhouse presence, and they figured whatever offense he provided above a roughly league-average level would constitute a bonus.
It has not quite worked out that way.
Arenado has provided the defense and veteran leadership, as expected. But his offense hasn’t exactly been complementary. It has been more like essential — a testament to how much he has improved coming off his previous two seasons, but also an indictment of the rest of the Diamondbacks’ lineup.
Diamondbacks pitcher Corbin Burnes dubbed their 8-4 win over the New York Yankees on Sunday, Sept. 20, the “Nolan Arenado Game.” Arenado not only made the aforementioned barehanded play on George Lombard Jr.’s slow roller in the eighth inning, but he also connected on a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth.
“Really, what he’s done the past couple of weeks has been incredible,” Burnes said. “It’s at a time when we really need it. It’s awesome to see a guy can have a resurgence here later in his career. To come here and kind of light a fire under all of us -- that’s who he’s been most of his career.”
The home run was Arenado’s 27th of the season and gave him 78 RBIs. Both are tops on the team. This level of production was hard to envision for anyone entering the season.
For years, Arenado ranked among the best players in the majors, a 10-time Gold Glove winner with a middle-of-the-order bat go with it. But his numbers have tailed off in recent seasons. Last season, he hit .237/.289/.377 with 12 homers in 401 at-bats for the Cardinals.
Arenado’s market was limited in the winter, but the Diamondbacks took what amounted to a low-cost gamble. Arenado was owed $42 million through 2027, but the Diamondbacks took on only $11 million of that while giving up a mid-level pitching prospect, right-hander Jack Martinez. It is looking like a shrewd deal.
“He’s been a complete player,” Lovullo said. “I felt like the numbers were going to sit south of where they are, but we had a leader, somebody that is very intense who prepares to play, who was going to rub off on young players. Defensively was going to lock it down. … But he’s got 27 home runs, something (around) 80 RBIs. Sign me up. I think that’s fantastic.
"Did I think it was going to be there? I thought it was going to be somewhere close to this. We’ve got six games to go and I think there’s more in it.”
Arenado battled injuries in recent seasons, including a shoulder injury that cut short his 2025 season, but he has largely stayed healthy this year, gutting through a variety of ailments to play in 146 of the Diamondbacks’ 156 games.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s great,” Arenado said. “I’m really proud of the bounceback I’ve had after the last couple of years. I feel like I’ve made some good adjustments. I give a lot of credit to a lot of people, but our hitting coaches here, just grinding with me every day. It feels great.”
Earlier this season, he eclipsed 2,000 career hits. He is 20 homers shy of 400. He might not be a slam-dunk Hall of Famer, but he looks like he has a strong resume — and he has only added to it this season.
The Diamondbacks, at 82-74, are likely to miss the playoffs, but would probably be even further back were it not for Arenado’s contributions. They come amid a season in which the Diamondbacks’ anticipated top hitters — Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo — have endured either outright disappointing seasons or long stretches of poor production.
“That's the challenge of a baseball season, of a championship season, and it happens all the time,” Lovullo said. “I'm looking around the league, and, you know, (Baltimore Orioles star) Gunnar Henderson is having a bit of a grinding year. I just know that it takes place, and it's hard. ...
“I wish they were having a .300 (average), .870 to .900 OPS type of a year, but it's just not the case. We’ve got to deal with what we're dealing with every single day and just be gritty.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks' Nolan Arenado stuns with team-leading power numbers
