Arizona Diamondbacks rumors: Landing Spots For Goldschmidt
The Arizona Diamondbacks have made it clear that Paul Goldschmidt is available to be traded. Here are a few landing spots for America’s First Baseman.
It’s almost unfathomable to think that the Arizona Diamondbacks, who led the NL West for 125 games in 2018, have actually floated the idea of trading not just one of their best players, but two. According to reports Paul Goldschmidt and Zach Greinke are available to be traded.
According to Bob Nightengale, not only is it not unfathomable, it’s rather likely.
The #Dbacks aren't bothering to hide it, they are extensively shopping Greinke, who had fabulous season once again, but realize they will have to pay portion of the remaining $104.5 million remaining in his contract. Be interesting if they packaged Greinke and Goldschmidt.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 16, 2018
It seems as though the Diamondbacks see this as an opportunity to unload a ton of money in exchange for top prospects. In fact, Zach Greinke is owed an average of $34.8 million over the next three seasons and Paul Goldschmidt is owed $14.5 for next season. While the chances that the D’Backs will be able to unload Greinke for a top prospect is unlikely, Goldschmidt should start to garner plenty of attention moving forward.
On Monday, rumors started to swirl over potential trades for Goldschmidt, which led me to begin speculating where he might land
Let’s start with “The Realistic Options.”
Minnesota Twins
On Tuesday, Jon Morosi reported that the Minnesota Twins and D’Backs have already engaged in “preliminary” trade talks for Goldy.
#Twins and #DBacks have had preliminary talks about a Paul Goldschmidt trade, source confirms, though the dialogue has not advanced in recent days. Minnesota had 5th-lowest OPS at first base of any @MLB team in 2018; Arizona had the best . . . because of Goldschmidt. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 20, 2018
Apparently, after a disappointing 2018 season, the Twins still feel that they are a playoff team. They were after all in the postseason just one year prior, and if not for a Didi Gregorious home run to tie the Wild Card game, the Twins were looking at defeating the Yankees in the Bronx.
So, who can blame Twins for feeling this way?
The AL Central was by far the worst division in MLB in 2018, and the first place finishers – Cleveland Indians – have already waved the white flag, announcing that everyone but Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez are available to be traded.
The question then becomes: is Goldschmidt enough to make the Twins a serious contender?
Well, according to Morosi’s tweet, part of the reason why the Twins are so interested in Goldy is because they ranked 5th worse in OPS at 1B in MLB. The Twins had a combined .707 OPS in 2018 and Goldschmidt, after a the slowest start of his career, finished with a .922 OPS.
Goldy to the Twins would absolutely make the twins a contender in the Central again. This is a no-brainer.
Tampa Bay Rays
With the news that the Tampa Bay designated C.J. Cron for assignment late Tuesday night, the Rays skyrocketed to the “Realistic Options” side of this short list for Paul Goldschmidt. Cron was by far the Rays best hitter in 2018, hitting 30 HR with a respectable .493 SLG.
And with the Rays finishing their 2018 campaign with a record of 90-72, which would have most definitely been good enough to take the Central, there is hope that the Rays can sneak in to the 2019 postseason via the Wild Card.
Jake Bauers took over the realms at first for Tampa Bay in 2018, and while he wasn’t terrible, he definitely didn’t look big league ready. Adding Goldschmidt, who the Rays wouldn’t have to commit long term to given that he will become an unrestricted free agent next season, would solidify the position and make the Rays a real contender not only in the Wild Card, but in the AL East as well.
The Rays are not the type of team that looks actively to add stars the likes of Paul Goldschmidt, but Goldy isn’t a big city type of player anyway. The Delaware native is one of baseball’s quietest superstars, stringing together one of the best stretches for a first baseman ever.
This too is a match made in heaven.
Houston Astros
There’s no indication that the Houston Astros are looking to add a first baseman. However, given that the organization ranked 20th in DRS at first base, and are dead smack in the middle in OPS, the prospect of adding Goldschmidt to the mix would solidify the Astros as the best team in MLB.
What’s more, the Astros have the best pitching system in all of MLB. According to WTTS, In 2018 the Astros minor league system led in all minor league levels in strikeouts. They also led all minor league levels, except AAA, in ERA. The D’Backs could ask for a combination of minor league starting pitchers in return for Goldschmidt.
While this is unlikely to happen, the prospect of it sure is scary.
New York Yankees
It seems this offseason that any time a player is made available, the Yankees could be in the mix. Over the last few seasons, the Yankees primary mission was to get below the luxury threshold for the 2018 season free agent class.
Since there’s a log jam in the outfield, the possibility that the Yankees would sign Harper seems out of the question. Also, given that Miguel Andujar has proven to be a valuable player over at third – at least offensively – and Didi Gregorious has become one of the faces of the Yankee franchise, the chances of the Yankees obtaining Machado also seems unlikely.
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Enter Paul Goldschmidt.
First base has been somewhat of a question mark since Mark Teixeira hung up his cleats in 2016. Greg Bird has proven to be injury prone, and while Luke Voit was a saving grace for the organization, there is some skepticism over Voit being the real deal. With the Yankees obtaining James Paxton to bolster their starting rotation, there’s plenty of money to dole out to MLB’s best first baseman.
Adding the first baseman would also make it highly possible to obtain, former teammate, Patrick Corbin, who seems to be high on the Yankee to-do list.
Sure, this move is unlikely to happen, but a kid from New York can hope.
Next. Could Goldschmidt and Greinke be Yankees?. dark
Ultimately, where Goldschmidt will go is anybodies guess. If you ask me, he’s staying put. It just doesn’t make sense for the Arizona Diamondbacks to rebuild just yet.