15 best trades in St. Louis Cardinals history

#11 - Paul Goldschmidt (2018)

Cardinals acquire: 1B Paul Goldschmidt

Diamondbacks acquire: RHP Luke Weaver, C Carson Kelly, 2B Andy Young, and a 2019 Competitive Balance Round B selection (who would become Dominic Fletcher)

Total surplus fWAR: 12.7

It's only fitting that Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado are back-to-back on this list, but I had a hard time deciding who was the "better" trade acquisition for the Cardinals. So, I asked fans on X who they believed the better trade to be!

62.3% of those who voted said the Goldschmidt trade was better for the Cardinals, and since I was leaning that direction as well, he now lands at number 11 on this list!

While Arenado was worth more surplus WAR (16.7 fWAR) in his trade compared to Goldschmidt (12.7 fWAR) due to the Cardinals giving up some valuable pieces like Carson Kelly and Luke Weaver in the deal to Arizona, it's hard to pick against the future Hall of Fame first baseman who had a ton of success in St. Louis.

During his six-year stint with the Cardinals, Goldschmidt slashed .278/.360/.483 with 153 HR and 477 RBI, good for a 131 wRC+ and 21.2 fWAR. The Cardinals made the playoffs in four of the six seasons Goldschmidt played in St. Louis, including returning to the NLCS in 2019 for the first time since 2014 with Goldschmidt in the middle of their order.

As a Cardinal, Goldschmidt was only named to one All-Star team and collected just one Gold Glove and Silver Slugger, but he did slam his way to his first and only MVP award in 2022, slashing .317/.404/.578 with 35 home runs and 115 RBI, beating out Arenado and Manny Machado for the honor.

While Goldschmidt's numbers during his eight years with Arizona were better than what he achieved in St. Louis, he was still one of the best bats in baseball from his age 31 season to age 35 with the Cardinals, only truly having one bad year during the final season he played with the club in 2024. Not only did Goldschmidt bring star power back to the Cardinals when they traded for him, but he was also a great teammate and high-character individual who helped the Cardinals through a weird time in their history.

While some critique Goldschmidt's time with the Cardinals due to the lack of postseason success outside of 2019, I think it's more a reflection on the Cardinals' inability to build around him and Arenado during that stretch. Goldschmidt cemented himself as a Hall of Famer during his time with the Cardinals, and it's still wild that Arizona was willing to let him go rather than sign him to an extension like the Cardinals did.

From 2019-2023, the five best years Goldschmidt had with St. Louis, the Cardinals' superstar ranked 13th in all of baseball in wRC+, 22nd in AVG, 15th in OBP, 25th in SLG, 18th in HR, 8th in R, 10th in RBI, and 18th in fWAR. He was the middle of the order bat the Cardinals had been craving for years, and it is a shame the club did not accomplish more while he was in St. Louis.