MLB free agency: 2019/2020 FAs that should be moved

Yasiel Puig: He'll be a free agent next winter. Could that make him trade bait now? (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Yasiel Puig: He'll be a free agent next winter. Could that make him trade bait now? (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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MLB free agency
PHOENIX, AZ – SEPTEMBER 23: Paul Golddschmidt #44 of the Arizona Diamondbacks reacts after hitting a foul ball during the bottom of the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field on September 23, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

Paul Goldschmidt

Rumors are so rife about the Diamondbacks shipping their star first baseman to parts unknown this winter that the idea has taken on elements of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Goldschmidt is 30, still solidly in his playing prime. But he is due $14.5 million and he becomes a free agent at season’s end. Couple that with a sense that Arizona, following its wild card 2017 season, may be headed in the wrong direction and the notion of the D-Backs getting what they can for him begins to make a bit of sense.

It’s not as if Goldschmidt is damaged goods. He is a six-time All-Star, he batted .290 in 2018 with a 139 OPS+, and he finished sixth in the Most Valuable Player voting.

But the Diamondbacks, following their wild-card season, got way out in front of their payroll skis in 2018. Having historically operated in the $100 million range, they went to $131 million and got a .500 team in return for their largesse. Beyond that, they are absolutely loaded with potentially costly arbitration cases: Robbie Ray, David Peralta, Jake Lamb, Brad Boxberger, Archie Bradley, Stephen Souza and a figurative cast of thousands.

In that context, moving Goldschmidt begins to make a bit of sense.