Nolan Arenado explains tension with Rockies

Nolan Arenado and the Colorado Rockies have had a difficult offseason, and according to the third baseman, it simply comes down to wanting to contend.

Arenado said Friday that he wants to contend for championships consistently and make the playoffs, stating that he only has so many chances of making an impact in October.

“You know what, and I want you please to write this down, the perception of me right now, some people have different things, right?” Arenado told Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. “It’s, ‘Oh, you make money, keep your mouth shut. You signed this deal and this and that.’ But, at the end of the day, man, people misunderstand. Us, as players, we only get one chance at this. I only get one chance at this. I have seven years left on my deal. I don’t know how it’s all going to turn out. And I want to win.

“It gets to a point in your career, you’re like, ‘OK, what else is there to do? I just want to win. I want to play in October.’ … I’ve only been to the playoffs a few times. Honestly, I haven’t played well in it. And I want that again. I want to have that opportunity to, like, show what I can do. You know?”

Arenado said he wanted to win “in Colorado or somewhere else” and that there was a “disconnect” with the organization, but he had no intention of allowing it to impact his performance or his relationship with his teammates.

“To be honest with you, there is a disconnect right now, right?” Arenado said. “There’s a little bit of a disconnect. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed. It doesn’t mean that I’m not gonna go out there and play hard for my teammates. Or be a negative presence in that locker room. That’s just not me. It’s not how I’m going to do things. I’m not going to be there trying to show them I don’t want to be there. I’m not going to be that way. That’s not fair. That’s drawing attention to me.”

Arenado was the subject of trade rumors for much of the offseason, and admitted there was “disrespect” from the organization. He signed a 7-year, $260 million deal with the team prior to 2019, only to see the team lose 91 games and not make any major moves ahead of 2020. Arenado does not want to waste his prime playing for a team that isn’t pushing to contend, which seems to be at the root of all this, but it doesn’t sound like the Rockies will be granting him a trade anytime soon.