"I'm back and I'm ready to go play ball," said Arenado. "I'm a ballplayer, and I'm a Cardinal, until I'm told I'm not. You know what I mean? And that's all there is to it. And I've got a lot of work to do. I've got to be a better ball player, and that's what I'm focused on."
The 10x Gold Glove third baseman and eight-time All-Star still hit a solid .272 batting average for the Cardinals last season despite hitting just 16 home runs, the lowest since his rookie year.
The 33-year-old veteran is still just as good as anyone else at the hot corner and could possibly be a topic of trades yet again depending on how the Cardinals are doing by the trade deadline.
But Arenado is just focused on improving his game and leaving the stuff out of his control to others in the organization.
"If I was a better baseball player last year, maybe things would be a little bit different," said Arenado. "I'm really focused on that. I feel really good. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but my body feels ready to go so I'm really excited about that."
Arenado spent the first eight years of his career with the Colorado Rockies where he became a star across the league. In those seasons with the Rockies, Arenadao slashed .293/.349/.541/.890 with 235 home runs and 760 RBI.
Over the past four years with the Cardinals, his hitting numbers have dipped to .271/.328/.470/.797.
Arenado is still under contract for this season and the next two years following it. He will earn $21 million this year, $16 million in 2026, and $15 million in 2027 before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2028.
His contract with the Cardinals includes $50 million in deferred money all the way up until 2041.