Arenado will use All-Star break to heal back

ST. LOUIS -- As much as Nolan Arenado wanted to play in Tuesday’s All-Star Game near his hometown of Newport Beach, Calif., in front of friends and family, the Cardinals star felt it would have been against his best long-term interests to do so with the lower back pain he’s been experiencing for over a month.

Arenado, chosen as a reserve for his seventh All-Star Game, will miss the Midsummer Classic with back pain that he said has been bothering him since June and was aggravated on Tuesday against the Dodgers when Arenado attempted to make a sliding catch on a foul pop by Cody Bellinger. He remained in that game and played the next three days before missing Saturday’s game. Arenado, who is holding out hope he can play on Sunday and be ready to go next Friday in Cincinnati, said he will use the All-Star break to rest his troublesome lower back.

“I’m sad about the All-Star Game, and I want to go because it’s in L.A. and at home, but I also have to do what’s right,” Arenado said. “That’s the goal -- to make sure I don’t have to go on the Injured List. At the end of the day, the second-half run is more important [than the All-Star Game]. I haven’t had an All-Star break the last six [full seasons]. The All-Star Game is awesome, but maybe this could pay dividends in the long run.”

Arenado, 31, said he has undergone multiple MRIs on his back, and they revealed no structural or nerve damage. This season, he is slashing .293/.359/.526 with 18 home runs and 59 RBIs in 88 games with the Cardinals. Arenado was named the NL Player of the Month for April and has played well enough defensively to be in consideration for a 10th straight Gold Glove Award.

Arenado said his original plan was to attend the All-Star Game, play for an inning and then ask out to rest his injured back. But when the pain progressed, he said he reevaluated and chose a plan that would best help him solve his back issues.

“It made more sense to go home and relax,” Arenado said. “I’m not going to do [the All-Star Game festivities]. I’m just going to go home, get treatment and get some work done. I’ve got a physical therapist back home ready to go.

“I wouldn’t say every day it’s getting worse, but every day is really sore, and I usually don’t feel like this,” Arenado added. “I’m just kind of shocked with how I feel. Usually something like this goes away quickly or I get treatment and it feels better. But lately I’ve been really tired, and my body is not responding the way I thought it would.”

Arenado said he first felt pain in his back on June 7 when the Cardinals were playing the Rays at Tropicana Field -- one of the few remaining MLB venues with an artificial turf field. He missed one of the three games in that series with back pain, and it has never really left him since that series.

“The first time I felt it was in Tampa on that turf,” he said. “The turf is so hard there and the ground is so hard, that really messed me up a little bit. That’s a hard place to play.”

Arenado might have made things worse with his back on Tuesday when he tried to track down a foul popup off the bat of Bellinger with the bases loaded. Not only did he not make that sliding catch, but he felt immediate pain in his back. He stayed in that game and played the next three days, but the pain grew more intense.

“That one set me back quite a bit from where I want to be,” he said. “It’s so hot here that [the back] feels good with the humidity. But after the game and when you wake up in the morning, it takes a little more time to get going.”

Arenado said getting rest and treatment should help him be ready to go when the Cardinals play in Cincinnati next Friday. Added Arenado: “I should be [ready]. I’d be surprised if I wasn’t in the lineup then.”