3 Cardinals who could be traded this offseason if Paul Goldschmidt resigns

Luken Baker

If Paul Goldschmidt is staying around for 2025 then you have to look and evaluate the current first basemen in Triple-A Memphis who is having another strong offensive season in the minor leagues. 

Luken Baker may be in a bit in between a rock and a hard place at the moment. It seems like he is too good for Triple-A pitching, but he is not quite ready for major league pitching, which is what we saw in his brief big-league stint last season.

Baker is currently hitting .237 this season which is almost 100 points lower than last season, but he is still providing plenty of power, with 30 home runs and 74 RBI, giving him 63 home runs and 172 RBI total in the last two seasons in Memphis.

So you would obviously have nowhere to put Baker other than DH if he were to be on the roster at the same time as Goldschmidt, but it would be difficult to guarantee him playing time. He would probably be in the big leagues with several other organizations just for his bat and his ability to hit for power, it could be something the Cardinals would have to consider if they choose to re-sign Goldschmidt. 

It would also be a good time to maybe try and maximize on his current value and give him a chance elsewhere to play more frequently. I just wrote recently about how the Cardinals failed to do this with Moises Gomez when he was putting up huge numbers in Memphis, they decided to not call him up or trade him, and he was just recently granted his release. You’d hate to see that happen again with another minor league player, so if they decide to stick with Goldschmidt, then you have to ask yourself if it makes sense to have a 27-year-old who continuously hits 30+ home runs in the minors sitting in the minors without a clear cut path to get consistent AB’s in the bigs.