Nolan Arenado’s afternoon ended early in Arizona’s 5-3 loss to the Braves, and the Diamondbacks are now waiting to find out whether the issue is more than a scare.
The third baseman exited with what the club called left trunk discomfort, and Arenado said afterward that he would “ probably get an MRI,” adding that he was “ worried ” because the soreness felt unfamiliar. He explained the moment this way: “ I just felt a little bit of pain under the intercostal area, I don’t know,” Arenado said.
“ I haven’t felt that before. I had to get taken out of the game.
I felt it before the at-bat. But it didn’t feel like pain or anything.
When I swung, it wasn’t getting drastically worse, but it didn’t feel right…. I just didn’t want to mess around with it.”
Arenado also said he “ felt a little something ” while putting on his leg guard before his fourth-inning plate appearance. The discomfort showed up again when he grounded out to third and appeared uneasy running up the line. Arizona then turned to Ildemaro Vargas at third base for the bottom of the inning.
The timing is what makes this one sting for the Diamondbacks. Arenado had just turned in maybe his sharpest performance of the year a day earlier, belting two home runs in Arizona’s 10-3 win over Atlanta on Saturday. That pushed him to 20 homers for the ninth time in his 14 MLB seasons.
Overall, Arenado is hitting .241/.321/.443 across 458 plate appearances for the D’Backs, with a 108 wRC+. That mark is still short of the peak production he delivered in his prime, but it does represent a bounce-back from the 84 wRC+ he put up in 436 PA during an injury-marred 2025 season with the Cardinals.
He has also been one of the more dependable pieces on a Diamondbacks club trying to stay in the wild card race. In 118 games, Arenado has produced 2.2 fWAR, and any injured list stint would be a blow to Arizona’s playoff push.
If he does miss time, Vargas and Tim Tawa would be the likeliest options to split third base duties. Jordan Lawlar is also on a rehab assignment and nearing a return from the 60-day IL, though he has been used exclusively as an outfielder in the majors and minors in 2026 despite having third base experience.
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