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

The St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly interested in looking to maintain one of their longest-tenured players, who is slated to hit free agency come season's end. However, making a decision like this would have an effect on more than just one person in the organization.

It was recently reported by Derrick Goold with the St. Louis Post Dispatch (paid prescription required), that the Cardinals will get in touch with former MVP Paul Goldschmidt about potentially discussing a new contract at the conclusion of the season.

Goldschmidt, who will turn 37 in September, is arguably having the worst season of his career in 2024. He has seen a steady decline in his production this season when it comes to hitting for average, hitting for power, and putting the ball in play consistently. This would lead some people to think with the decline in his play along with his age, it may be best to cut ties with Goldschmidt at the end of his contract but that may not be the case.

Even though the Cardinals were able to trade away players like Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson at the trade deadline, there is still some questions regarding a handful of position players on the Cardinals on where they're going to play, and for how often. Is Brendan Donovan going to continue to play primarily left field? Where does he go if Jordan Walker returns to the big leagues this year? Is Alec Burleson going to be an outfielder full-time in the future? And now you add Tommy Pham to that collection of players, it's a lot to unravel.

I would think that if the Cardinals bring back Goldschmidt for the 2025 season, we could see another trade involving position players to clear playing time for others and to give someone an opportunity to get more at-bats on another ball club. Here are 3 players that could be traded this winter if Goldschmidt decides to stay in St. Louis.

Nolan Gorman

Gorman currently finds himself in purgatory with the Cardinals. Now granted they have faced a decent amount of left-handed starting pitchers recently, but he is hovering around the Mendoza Line right now and his playing time has declined because of that. Gorman is 6 for his last 59 dating back to July 10.

So why would Gorman potentially be traded if Goldschmidt gets a new contract? If you look at who is with the big club right now, the player who mostly handles first base when Goldschmidt gets an off day is Alec Burleson, which I believe would also make him the most likely candidate to take over over anyone else on the roster.

Burleson has arguably been the team's offensive MVP this year, so as it stands right now you're keeping him around, but if you're keeping Goldschmidt around as well that keeps Burleson in the outfield, whether it's right field or left field. You then have Michael Siani, Victor Scott II, Lars Nootbaar, and Jordan Walker competing for playing time in the outfield, and that leaves out the player who has played left field more than anyone in Brendan Donovan.

You would assume the plan is to have Walker back in the big leagues and playing every day sooner rather than later, and if the outfield is healthy, do you need Donovan to play the outfield as much as he's had this season? It's great to have Donovan's defensive versatility, but with all those outfielders you might see Donovan play predominantly second base, which is where Gorman currently plays when he is in the lineup.

You could have Gorman DH but he hasn't made this any easier for himself with how poorly he has hit this season. Burleson has been the offensive player that lots of us were expecting Gorman to be this year, someone to provide protection to Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, so I think this makes Gorman expendable.

His upside is still very high as a prolific power hitter, and he is only 24 years old, but he is having all kinds of struggles at the plate in 2024 and is losing playing time. If the Cardinals decide to keep Goldschmidt past this season, they may have to make a decision with their slumping young slugger.

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.