Arenado sticking with Cardinals

All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado will not exercise the opt-out clause in his contract with the Cardinals, keeping him in St. Louis through the end of the 2027 season. Arenado had until five days after the World Series to decide whether to opt out of the remaining five years and $144 million on his contract. He originally signed an eight-year, $260 million pact with the Rockies in 2019 before getting sent to the NL Central champions, where he is set to make a base salary of $35 million next season. Cardinals president John Mozeliak said earlier in the week that he flew to Southern California to meet with Arenado and that he was “optimistic” that things would work out. The 31-year-old Arenado, a seventime All-Star, also had been hearing from longtime ace Adam Wainwright, who announced earlier this week that he would return for one last season in St. Louis. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who might be Arenado’s biggest competition in the NL MVP race, also has been peppering him with text messages. “Goldy and I have been on him” Wainwright said.