Arenado perplexed by lack of power: 'My swing is not good'
St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado is searching for answers as to why he's having such difficulty hitting home runs this season.
"It's bad. The swing is not good, my swing is not good," Arenado said Monday, according to John Denton of MLB.com. "I've been working on it and trying to figure this thing out, but my swing is not good.
"I'm a guy that pulls the ball in the air, and I haven't done that all year. I don't know what the answers are. I've got to continue to try to find it. I can see the difference of when I was good and when I'm not, but trying to apply it in games right now is really hard for me."
Arenado has gone deep three times with a .663 OPS over 51 games in 2024. The eight-time All-Star has hit at least 30 homers seven times over his 12-year career. Arenado slashed .266/.315/.459 with 26 long balls last season in what was considered a down year for the 2022 NL MVP finalist.
The 33-year-old has already gone on streaks of 11 games, 14 games, and 19 games without recording a round-tripper this campaign.
"I haven't felt like me all year," Arenado added. "It's been a while. I don't think it's gone. I still move fast, and I've gone through all the numbers - and the (random) numbers - and they still tell me I'm moving as fast as I ever have, but there's a mechanical issue and approach thing. I haven't been me in the last five months of baseball."
The last time Arenado's homer production was this limited over the first two months of a season was his 2013 rookie year when he had a combined four heading into June.
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