6 Cardinals players who need to improve before it's too late

Paul Goldschmidt needs to improve before it's too late

Amidst Paul Goldschmidt's struggles, rumors of an extension have been brewing, leaving many fans puzzled and frustrated that the team would bring back the former MVP amidst the worst year of his career. Goldschmidt has been a below-league-average hitter this year by OPS+, and his situational hitting has been extremely poor, with just a .513 OPS with runners in scoring position.

Though he regressed significantly from his MVP year in 2022, Goldschmidt was still a productive bat for the Cardinals last year. While many feared age would cause him to regress even further, the team still counted on him to be one of the anchors of a powerful lineup.

This expectation has been anything but real this season, and the Cardinals lineup has suffered greatly for it. Despite finally being moved lower in the order at one point, Paul Goldschmidt has still seen his share of important high-leverage moments go to waste, and his play with runners in scoring position is simply unacceptable.

If Paul Goldschmidt can reclaim even part of his 2023 form and find himself with runners in scoring position, the Cardinals lineup would gain a huge boost. Time's running out for Goldy in his Cardinals career, and it would be extremely unfortunate to see it end like this. Of all the players on this list, I'm least hopeful that we'll see meaningful improvements from Goldy throughout the stretch, as it truly does seem like age has caught up with the future Hall of Famer. However, if he can find some of his MVP magic left in the tank, it would be truly great for the floundering Cardinals offense.