Paul Goldschmidt is very certain to be one of the St. Louis Cardinals’ headline exits this offseason. Perhaps the only thing John Mozeliak needs to answer is how many familiar faces will follow him out the door as trade whispers swirl around Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, Ryan Helsley, and others.
However, Goldschmidt will not be leaving via trade. The 37-year-old first baseman, who won the NL MVP award with the Redbirds in 2022, is a free agent this offseason. As Chaim Bloom enters the fray for the Cardinals, and after two miserable postseason-less seasons (which were not even close, it should be noted), the expectation is that the organization would reduce salary rather than make substantial acquisitions.
That is a sad message to give to the Saint Louis faithful. At the same time, it’s an indictment on Mozeliak and the Cardinals organization for how ruthlessly they’ve mismanaged this franchise that they won’t get Goldschmidt back — especially at the price tag he appears to be demanding based on early forecasts.
If the Cardinals were competitive, they could easily accommodate this salary into their budget. However, they will not be.
Cardinals failures paved way for Paul Goldschmidt departure
No matter where you look, it appears that Goldschmidt will be both desirable and marketable. Jim Bowden of The Athletic ($) anticipated the soon-to-be former Cardinal’s deal to be one year and $15 million, which is the same projection MLBTradeRumors provided for the first baseman’s deal. While ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ($) expects the agreement to be slightly more expensive at one year and $18 million, McDaniel also believes Goldy is one of the free agents worth investing in at that price point.
Given that we’re looking at AAVs of around $24 million for someone like Christian Walker or even $26.5 million for Pete Alonso, taking an older but still proven (and with some good underlying metrics for a potential bounce-back in 2025) Goldschmidt for significantly less money and a shorter long-term commitment should be appealing to a contender.
However, the Cardinals are not that. Again, all signals point to the company beginning a teardown and, eventually, a reconstruction. Seeing that happen when the intention was purportedly to argue is a stomach strike in and of itself. Watching a player who quickly became a fan favorite and a modern legend for St. Louis, such as Goldschmidt, be essentially shown the door when he would have otherwise been affordable exacerbates the situation.
The Cardinals’ current condition cannot be sugarcoated. It’s been horrible on the field the last two seasons, and it’s only going to get worse. Goldschmidt’s planned contract, which the team might have afforded if things had been going better, now serves as a bitter reminder of how the mighty have fallen — and may continue to do so in the near future.
