The list of star players signing big extensions continued on Thursday afternoon, as St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt agreed to a five-year, $130 million contract to stay with his new team:
#STLCards close on an extension with 1B Paul Goldschmidt, sources tell The Athletic. Deal will be for at least five years and at least $110M.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 21, 2019
Paul Goldschmidt and #cardinals closing in on five-year extension worth around $130 million, according to source. @Ken_Rosenthal had sides were close.
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) March 21, 2019
The contract will be added to Goldschmidt's $15.5 million value for this year, the final year of his old deal.
The Cardinals traded for Goldy in December, trading Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, and Andy Young in exchange for the All-Star first baseman. Goldschmidt would have been a free agent following this season, but most sources indicated that the Cardinals would look to extend their new slugger before the end of the year.
Goldschmidt, 31, has been one of the most productive players in baseball since 2012. Goldschmidt ranks fifth in fWAR during that time period and has placed in the top three in MVP voting on three separate occasions.
The Cardinals committed the most errors in baseball last season, but now replace the first base tandem of Jose Martinez and Matt Carpenter with a former Gold Glover in Goldschmidt.
At an annual value of $26 million, Goldschmidt will receive a higher AAV than Bryce Harper (and rightfully so), but the extension also provides the Cardinals with some flexibility as they may look to extend or re-sign Marcell Ozuna, whose contract expires after this season.
The Redbirds lock up their superstar after previously reaching an extension with ace Miles Mikolas, and now have almost every core player under contract through at 2020.
With Goldscmidt in the fold for the foreseeable future, the Cardinals look like serious contenders in the National League for years to come.
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