St. Louis Cardinals: Exploring trades with the Arizona Diamondbacks

With the off season rumors already beginning, the St. Louis Cardinals might have an opportunity to work a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. What might this look like and at what cost?

There is large speculation that the Arizona Diamondbacks could open up a fire sale of their best players this winter. Names like Paul Goldschmidt, David Peralta, and Jake Lamb have been tossed around as trade candidates. With other big names such as Patrick Corbin and AJ Pollock hitting the free agent market. The St. Louis Cardinals could take advantage.

Of course, fans eyes pop wide open when they hear Goldschmidt’s name getting tossed around. However, I think a bit of caution for this move might be necessary.

Yes, Goldschmidt is a good player. But, it’s also crucial to keep in mind the St. Louis Cardinals roster, as is. Acquiring Goldschmidt would inevitably force Matt Carpenter to third base. As Cardinals fans, we all know what that looks like and it isn’t pretty.

With a 2018 redbirds team that led Major League Baseball in in errors in 2018 – this doesn’t seem to move us away from that trend. Granted, on the flip side of that, Goldschmidt is a 3-time Gold Glove winner at first. As long as Carpenter is in St. Louis, he is going to play everyday. Kolten Wong outright deserves to be the Cardinals second basemen – thus, leaving the only open spot at third for Carpenter.

I guess my question is – is this solution durable? Can Carpenter play 150 games at third and not cause the defensive woes this team experienced there, last season? I’m open to the idea. I’m just not sure.

Which brings me to the next point: Is there a deal that could bring over both Goldschmidt and Lamb? For those that aren’t familiar, Lamb is a very good baseball player – an All-Star in 2017.

He faced a shoulder injury that kept him out of the lineup for the better part of 2018. Although, he’s young and shouldn’t have a problem going forward.

Obviously this would be a pretty big trade. But, isn’t that what we are going for here? Looking for big solutions outside of the obvious free agents?

I’m still 100% behind the Cardinals meeting the Colorado Rockies needs and exploring a trade for Nolan Arenado. However, this could be a pretty nice back up plan.

Also it is worth noting that I only support this trade if it’s a package deal -Goldschmidt and Lamb. Which means it probably isn’t even realistic at all – but hey, weirder things have happened. Especially if the Diamondbacks are really wanting to sell.

Goldsmchidt himself would require the Cardinals giving up a lot. He isn’t particularly young considering he’ll turn 32 during the season and there’s no guarantee the Cardinals would be able to resign him.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals are in a really weird position this off season. Big moves have to be made. Finding the moves that are realistic and make sense for the club is going to take some creativity from the Front Office.