Nolan Arenado refusing to land on IL for Diamondbacks was a good thing

1 month ago 15

The Arizona Diamondbacks are 4.0 games back in the NL Wild Card race as the final week's worth of games are set to get underway.

As Arizona's working their way back into contention, one of the most important contributors has been Nolan Arenado. But they almost didn't have him for this stretch of the year.

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Arenado could've landed on the injured list a few weeks ago, but refused the Diamondbacks' wish to place him on the IL. That refusal has borne fruit, as the future Hall of Famer has been incredible for the D-Backs lately.

Diamondbacks are fortunate Nolan Arenado refused placement on IL

"The Diamondbacks wanted to place Arenado on the IL a few weeks ago with a left intercostal injury and an inflamed thumb, but he refused, insisting he could play through the injuries in the pennant race," Nightengale writes.

Arenado has been a solid contributor for the Diamondbacks overall this season, and it would make sense for Arizona to protect the veteran third baseman if he wasn't 100%.

But Arenado didn't want to hit the injured list, refusing a potential placement on the IL. That refusal has been a major boost for Arizona.

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Since the start of September, roughly around when the Diamondbacks would've asked Arenado to hit the IL, he's been one of the best hitters in MLB.

In 16 games and 56 at-bats, Arenado has 18 hits, seven runs scored, two doubles, five home runs, nine RBIs, seven walks, a .321 batting average, and a 1.031 OPS.

If it wasn't for Arenado playing at such a high level, the Diamondbacks might've been much farther back than four games, as they enter play on Sunday, September 20.

While the Diamondbacks' postseason future is still up in the air, Arenado's decision to refuse to hit the injured list has proven to be the right call so far.