Ranking the 10 best contracts in recent St. Louis Cardinals history

Adam Wainwright # 50 and Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals bump gloves prior to the start of the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 10, 2019 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by St. Louis Cardinals, LLC/Getty Images)
Adam Wainwright # 50 and Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals bump gloves prior to the start of the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 10, 2019 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by St. Louis Cardinals, LLC/Getty Images) /
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Paul Goldschmidt #46 of the St. Louis Cardinals at bat against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on July 06, 2021 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

No. 6: Paul Goldschmidt (2020-current)

Value: +$18.8 million

After coming over to St. Louis via trade prior to the 2019 season, Goldschmidt became entrenched as the Cardinals first baseman and much needed middle of the order bat. He signed a five-year extension with the club worth $130 million, and has so far proved to be even more valuable than his yearly pay.

Across the first two years of his extension, Goldy has slashed .296/.378/.503 with 37 home runs, 120 RBI, and playing Gold Glove defense at first. Had the 2020 season not been cut short, Goldy may have played at an even higher value than the $18.8 million that FanGraphs awarded him.

There was little bits of chatter following the 2019 season that Goldschmidt may have declined from his production with the Diamondbacks. Although his numbers have dipped slightly, a strong 2021 has put Goldschmidt right back in the conversation for top 3 first basemen in the game today.

If Goldy continues to put up this level of play, he will easily climb this list and prove that both of his major extensions in his career were bargains.