ST. LOUIS – From MVP one season to trade chip the next? This is one theory some fans have developed on how to fix a St. Louis Cardinals team that has treaded near the bottom of the National League for much of the 2023 season.
Paul Goldschmidt has nearly a season and a half remaining on a five-year contract. The seven-time All-Star could become a free agent after the 2024 season. Pair that with the Cardinals’ recent movement toward youth, even with this year’s record aside, it makes sense for St. Louis to at least consider how the veteran first baseman fits in their future plans.
Cardinals-based and non-Cardinals-based baseball websites are going as far making hypothetical trades and landing spots for Goldschmidt. How exactly did we get here?
Last year, Goldschmidt won his first MVP award at the age of 35 and flirted with the NL Triple Crown deep into August. The Cardinals earned their fourth consecutive postseason berth behind big years from Goldschmidt and fellow corner infielder Nolan Arenado.
This year’s script is far from finished, and though Goldy is hitting to a respectable tune (.291 batting average, 13 home runs, 38 RBI), he’s slightly behind last year’s MVP pace in most hitting categories. The overall body of work has been about what most expected, but he’s missing out on some key opportunities to help the Cardinals win tight games, most indicative by his .250 batting average with runners in scoring position.
Though the Cardinals have played better of late (four consecutive wins), they have quite a hole to dig themselves out of (31-43 record) and will realistically need to win around two of every three games the rest of the season for a shot at postseason. The odds are stacked for a deep October run, even for a team known as one of the stronger second-half teams in recent years.
The team’s prolonged struggles and Goldschmidt’s results generally outpacing his age are two reasons why the trade buzz likely won’t slow down closer to July.
However, there’s one big roadblock in the way of any potential trade: Paul Goldschmidt ultimately has the final say in any trade the Cardinals might reach with another team and whether it gets completed.
Goldschmidt is in his first year of eligibility under MLB’s 10/5 rights. This means players with at least 10 years of MLB service and five seasons with their current team can veto any trade their franchise might agree upon before their contract expires.
As the second longest-tenured Cardinals position player, it seems Goldschmidt is very comfortable with his place in the St. Louis clubhouse and oftentimes thanks fans for their support after a big game. Even with the imperfections of the 2023 season, he talks highly of his teammates and reminds fans of his taking-care-of-business approach.
It’s clear Goldschmidt takes pride in his work on the field with the Cardinals and his philanthropy contributions in St. Louis off the field have grown in recent years. Add in 10/5 rights to his current situation, Goldschmidt seems a likely candidate to decline a trade in most scenarios unless the Cardinals extremely fall out of the postseason picture or change course with how first base is regularly handled.
Players like Brandon Phillips and Adam Jones have prevented trades from happening in the past due to their 10/5 rights. Goldschmidt is one of 20 current MLB players with 10/5 rights, which also includes teammate Adam Wainwright.
Whether Goldy somehow goes swirled around in trade talks or not, the Cardinals will likely be in a tricky spot until close to trade deadline. St. Louis hasn’t traditionally been a seller’s market in the past, and POBO John Mozeliak reiterated recently he didn’t anticipate the Cardinals as sellers. And it seems Goldschmidt and Arenado will most likely be untouchable this season, private sources told USA Today Baseball writer Bob Nightengale.
The Cardinals conclude a road series with the Washington Nationals on Wednesday for a chance of a sweep. After that, they head overseas to London for a two-game weekend series with the Cubs. St. Louis is currently eight games back of the Cincinnati Reds for the NL Central division lead and 9.5 games back of a Wild Card postseason spot.