JUPITER, Fla. -- Superstar third baseman and 10-time Gold Glove winner Nolan Arenado is standing firm on the expected finish line for his Hall of Fame-worthy career.

“I still think 38 is the time for me,” said the 32-year-old Arenado. “I’m not thinking post-career, but I think 38 is the end for me. At least, I would like 38 to be it. I want to enjoy my life post-career and I might be fortunate enough to enjoy that earlier than most. That’s the case even with my family, who have worked into their 50s and 60s.”

Arenado, a proud girl dad to 18-month-old Levi, is still a ways away from the PTA meetings, school pickup lines and retiree circuit as he is fully invested in trying to help the Cardinals pull off a big bounce back in 2024. Even for a guy known for his intensity, Arenado showed up to Cards camp with a distinct edge to him and a feeling that he has something to prove. He didn’t take too kindly to his streak of 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons (excluding the shortened 2020 campaign) ending at seven or not even being a Gold Glove finalist after capturing the award for a decade straight.

“A motivated Nolan is a scary Nolan,” teammate Lars Nootbaar warned.

Even among the most hardened of competitors, Arenado stands out. He obsesses over his hitting so much that he not only takes a bat home most nights, but he’ll strike a stance on the team plane next to Paul Goldschmidt, at dinner with family or mid-conversation with his wife, Laura.

To try and counterbalance a baseball obsession that can consume him, Arenado has sought other outlets to purposely distract him. One side hobby is his venture into the wine industry with Diamond & Key, a Napa Valley, Calif.-based endeavor with Golden State Warriors superstar guard Klay Thompson.

The Arenado and Thompson families have been friends for years dating back to when Nolan and Klay’s younger brother, Mets outfielder Trayce Thompson, played travel baseball together. When Klay met former Notre Dame and Cal-Davis college basketball player and winemaker Joe Harden, the idea for a wine company bloomed like grapes on the vine.

Diamond & Key currently sells bottles of 2019 and 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2022 Rosé, and a new release of 2023 Rosé and Sonnys Block is due out later this month. Upon the release of the wines, Arenado shipped out bottles to MLB superstars Aaron Judge, Freddie Freeman, Marcus Semien and Goldschmidt, and he said the response was overwhelmingly positive.

“They all liked it for the most part. They’re fans of it and say it’s really good,” said Arenado, who even joined Instagram largely as a way to promote his wine brand. “They could just be blowing smoke or trying to make me feel good, but I’ll take it. We think it’s good wine.”

“I’ve tried it, I like it, and I’ve recommended it to my friends,” Goldschmidt said. “It’s a fun hobby for him and hopefully a profitable one, too. [Wine] is another way for me and Nolan to bond, and it’s usually a good excuse for us as a team to get together. If we’re all going to dinner, it’s cool to have something there that Nolan has put a lot of time and thought into.”

Arenado also put plenty of thought into ways he can keep his body fresher in 2024. He’s trying to limit his swings to protect his balky back, while also using a “less is more” approach with taking grounders.

When he’s not focused on hitting or reclaiming his spot as the greatest defensive third baseman of his generation, Arenado is looking for ways to unwind. That’s the case with his wine venture. And it was the case at Cards camp on Sunday when he walked a wobbly Levi around and chased his dog in the outfield.

Someday, baseball will end, and Arenado is already eyeing something to replace the game that means everything to him.

“I’d like to golf and not have any worries,” he said. “I’d like, by the end of my contract, for my daughter to realize what’s going on with me being a baseball player. But I’d also like to be done while she’s still in school and get to do a lot of cool things with her and our family.”

Matt Carpenter wants nothing to do with retirement, and he’s repeatedly shown that throughout Spring Training while being one of the Cardinals’ most consistent hitters. No moment summed that up more than when the 38-year-old first baseman went careening over the tarp to catch a foul popup Saturday against the Nationals.

“Oh man, I thought I had a little more room than I ended up with there,” said Carpenter, who also had two hits and two RBIs. “Obviously, you want to make the play, but that was less than ideal, running over the tarp and flipping over.”

Brought in to provide veteran leadership the club felt was missing last season, Carpenter has also shown some pop at the plate. Nine games in, he has six hits, including three doubles and one homer. This is no ceremonial return just to wear the birds on the bat across his chest one more time, Carpenter insisted. 

“I understand my role and I take a lot of pride out of the leadership part,” he said, “but when I get opportunities to hit, I want to carry my weight.”

Manager Oliver Marmol said at least three times this spring a player has told him of instances when Carpenter helped with his advice. Carpenter said he’s just doing what Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Chris Carpenter did for him some 13 years ago.

“I mean, that’s why I wanted to come back,” he said. “I really contemplated not playing, but when you get a phone call from the St. Louis Cardinals and they lay out the value they think you can bring, it meant the world to me. I’m really enjoying that [leadership part] the most.”

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