The St. Louis Cardinals accepted their fate this season as they became sellers for the 2023 MLB trade deadline instead of the usual buyers. It's an odd occurrence for the Cardinals, who are normally in the thick of things this time of year. But they still held onto to one of their best players, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt — even though they shouldn't have.
Were the Cardinals wrong for holding onto Paul Goldschmidt?
Paul Goldschmidt is coming off his first NL MVP season, where he slashed for .317/.404/.578, while also carrying a .981 OPS, hitting 35 bombs and 115 RBI's. Goldschmidt isn't quite having the same year as he did last season, but he's still producing, slashing .280/.369/.467, with a .836 OPS, going yard 18 times for 56 RBI's. Some of that might be due to the Cardinals offense often times becoming stagnant. Nonetheless, it seemed rather surprising that St. Louis didn't move off of Goldschmidt at this year's trade deadline, given they had every reason to do so.
The Cardinals have been waning over the last couple seasons, even if they have made the playoffs four out of the last five seasons. The Cardinals style of baseball is aging, literally. Before the trade deadline, they were the fourth oldest team in the league, with the average age of 29.8, according to MLB Run.
In a league now that is getting younger by the day it seems, the Cardinals were holding onto relics of the past. Last year, they finally said goodbye to two of their all-time fan favorites in Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols after he made his return to the team after a long stint with the Los Angeles Angels and a brief stop with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This year, longtime pitcher Adam Wainwright, who is currently on the injured list and sporting a career worst 7.18 ERA, is set to retire at the end of the season.
Unlike all the aforementioned players, Goldschmidt is still producing, still valuable — which makes it even more concerning why the Cardinals didn't put him on the trade market this year.
Paul Goldschmidt would have likely gotten a good return for the Cardinals
Goldschmidt will be 36-years-old at the beginning of next season. It will also the last year of his deal that will pay him $22 million. This would have been an attractive offer for a team looking for a veteran big bat that wouldn't have just wanted a two-month rental. For the Cardinals on the other hand, it was the perfect opportunity to look toward their future, gain talented prospects and build their team for tomorrow.
“If there’s ever a time to sell off veterans for prized prospects, this is the year, with executives calling it the best seller's market at the trade deadline in 20 years,” Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote.
After this year's MLB Draft, the Cardinals are actually setting up nicely with the seventh best farm system, according to Bleacher Report. But any MLB executive would tell you that you can never have too much talent, either to promote or use for trade value later on — something that the Cardinals have done a lot of over the years.
The biggest obstacle the Cardinals would have dealt with concerning Goldschmidt was his no-trade clause in his contract. Whether that was discussed with the 35-year-old or not, is uncertain. By trading Jordan Montgomery, Chris Stratton, Jordan Hicks and Jack Flaherty, the Cardinals now look like they're heading for a rebuild, whether their president of baseball operations John Mozeliak wants to admit that or not. So, why wasn't Goldschmidt part of this?
Are the Cardinals and Mozeliak naïve to believe they can recover after this season where they're on pace for their worst record in a 107 years? The Cardinals needed to get younger, yet they still, like any stubborn old man, hung on to what they didn't need, possibly sacrificing their future in the process.
Follow Us
Subscribe