St. Louis Cardinals looking to extend Paul Goldschmidt
By Joey Brasch
Even though he was just acquired, the St. Louis Cardinals are looking to extend Paul Goldschmidt.
Earlier this winter, the St. Louis Cardinals landed one of the biggest prizes of the offseason in first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. While playing with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Goldschmidt established himself as one of the best players in baseball, finishing in the top three in the NL MVP voting three times in the last six years. However, he will be a free agent after the 2019 season, and the Cardinals are looking to hold onto him for longer.
On Monday, Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. was quoted as saying, “Whenever a good player comes to the Cardinals, if they have a year left on their contract, we always think down the road. We’d love to have him here longer than one year, and we’ll just see how that plays out.”
There’s nothing strange about a team wanting a good player to stay on their team long-term, but the question remains as to whether the Cardinals will be able to lock up Goldschmidt.
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Despite Goldy’s status as one of the best players in the game, the current free agent climate and his age suggest he won’t get as much money as one may think. Goldschmidt entered the league later than usual, and he will be 32 once he hits free agency. With Bryce Harper and Manny Machado struggling to find big money at age 26, it seems unlikely that Goldschmidt will make an insane amount of money in free agency.
Perhaps the best free agent comp for Goldschmidt is J.D. Martinez. After establishing himself as one of the best hitters in baseball, Martinez signed a five-year, $110 million deal with the Boston Red Sox as a 30-year-old. Certainly, Martinez is not a perfect comp for Goldschmidt, even beyond their age.
Unlike Martinez, Goldschmidt provides a great amount of value outside of his bat. He has won three Gold Glove Awards at first base, and he’s a surprisingly good baserunner given his size. Both baserunning and defense decline faster than hitting, but there’s enough evidence to suggest that Goldschmidt could stick at first base for a long time, meaning that NL teams won’t shy away from him.
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Goldschmidt might try to avoid the tepid free agent market by signing a deal with the Cardinals, but there’s nothing to suggest that the two sides have made any inroads with their negotiations. Regardless, in 2019, Goldschmidt could push the Cardinals over the top after narrowly missing the playoffs three straight years, and as DeWitt says, “worst case is we get a top Draft choice.”