Cardinals: 6 trade partners that could make trading Paul Goldschmidt worth the gamble

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After a disastrous first half of the 2023 season, the St. Louis Cardinals have finally come to the conclusion that they need to sell at the trade deadline. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak is on the record saying that the Cardinals are going to be sellers with an eye on competing again in 2024.

What the Cardinals have also been VERY public about as well is that they want to keep their core in place for the 2024 season and that includes first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Again, this is a Cardinals team that does not want to enter a lengthy rebuilding period and who sees this season as a short-term problem that can be fixed with the right moves at the trade deadline and this coming offseason.

St. Louis may very well be right about that. While the Cardinals' current record is a colossal disappointment, they have underperformed their run differential which points to a fair bit of bad luck and a closer look shows that the problems with their roster are primarily just in their rotation. The offense has been very good (their team 111 wRC+ is sixth best in baseball) and the bullpen has been very reasonable this season. Adding a couple quality starting pitchers and replacing some pending free agents COULD be enough to get the Cardinals right back on track.

However, trading Goldschmidt does have its merits. With one more year of team control after this season, Goldschmidt would command a massive return that could not only provide a boost to other parts of the roster for 2024, but set St. Louis up for success for years to come. Additionally, his trade value will never be higher than it is right now as 2024 is his walk year and at 35 years old, there is a real chance that Father Time will start catching up with him soon. In a trade market bereft of quality bats, Goldschmidt would be the prize to end all prizes and it doesn't seem like the Cardinals are completely ruling out anything at the moment.

Here are six trade partners that could make trading Paul Goldschmidt worth it

Again, this is just a thought exercise and not an advocacy to move Goldschmidt because there are some serious pros and cons to each path. With Goldschmidt possessing a no-trade clause, he could veto any deal which means our focus here will be on teams that are actually in contention right now who also, at least in theory, could put together a package that could actually be substantial enough to be tempting for the Cardinals. We are also going to avoid division rivals as those trades rarely happen/make sense.

Here is a look at some of the teams that could make trading Paul Goldschmidt a worthy gamble.

Goldschmidt would give the Minnesota Twins some much needed offense

If you think that the National League Central has been underwhelming as a whole in 2023, it has nothing on the AL Central which has felt like a pillow fight to the death. The Minnesota Twins currently lead the division by 1.5 games and they are also the only team in the AL Central that (as of 7/18) actually has a winning record at 48-47.

The fundamental problem that Minnesota has is a lack of offense. Their team wRC+ of 100 is smack dab in the middle of the league and they rank just 24th in the league with a team .234 batting average. Somehow, that has been a enough to lead the division up until now and Goldschmidt would obviously provide a big offensive jolt from the right side of the plate for a Minnesota roster that has a bunch of lefty bats.

The Twins could probably put a package together for Goldschmidt that could be enticing centered around prospects Brooks Lee and/or Connor Prielipp. Prielipp has the kind of swing and miss stuff when he is healthy to be a frontline starter and Lee can just flat out hit. The fit is a little weird on the Twins' side because of the positional issues with Byron Buxton and Alex Kirilloff, but Goldschmidt would be worth having to moving some guys around a bit.

The Cleveland Guardians need a bat and have a loaded farm system to make a trade with the Cardinals work

In the same division, we have the Cleveland Guardians who are trying to chase the Twins down. The Guardians are not dissimilar from the Twins in that they have had to rely on their starting pitching. Cleveland's offense is in even worse shape than Minnesota's with a 91 team wRC+and the worst power production in the league overall.

Goldschmidt is basically the perfect bat for the Guardians to target and the roster fit works if Cleveland moves Josh Naylor to DH and they stop giving Josh Bell and his sub-.700 OPS plate appearances. There is some risk that Goldschmidt wouldn't play ball, though, as the Guardians are a sub-.500 team at the moment and he could understandably not be bullish on Cleveland's chances in the short-term.

As for the return for the Cardinals, Gavin Williams would likely be at the top of their wish list, but the Guardians may need to keep him especially with Shane Bieber dealing with elbow inflammation at the moment. If the Cardinals want to try their luck on a high upside but oft-injured arm, Daniel Espino could be an option. Another arm that should be on St. Louis' radar is Joey Cantillo who is a lefty that has performed every year he has been in the minors and is at Triple-A. He could be a nice pick-up as the Cardinals look ahead to the 2024 season.

The Astros may need a starting pitcher, but Goldschmidt could give them a needed power bat

The Houston Astros needing a bat is a weird thing to say out loud in 2023, but here we are. At this moment in time, their bigger need is "probably" at starting pitcher especially if Framber Valdez's calf injury ends up putting him on the shelf for a while. However, the Houston offense has suffered with Yordan Alvarez out and Jose Abreu forgetting how to hit for the first two months of the season.

The roster fit is a little complicated here especially with Yordan Alvarez presumably coming back pretty soon. However, putting Goldschmidt at first, Abreu at DH, and Alvarez in the outfield (while also getting DH starts) seems to make some level of sense and would definitely give the Astros' lineup some pep in its step.

However, it is unclear that the Astros want to commit to the $22 million a year that Goldschmidt is owed as good as he is (this is Jim Crane we are talking about after all). The Astros farm system is also a bit light at the moment. While Drew Gilbert is a fine player, the Cardinals aren't short on outfielders and the pitching in the Astros' system does leave something to be desired.

The Marlins have hung around and a trade with the Cardinals could make them legit contenders

Who would have thought that we would be talking about the Marlins as a legit playoff contender at the trade deadline in 2023? What a time to be alive.

The Marlins have surpassed all expectations (not to mention their own -12 run differential) to have one of the best records in the National League thanks largely to their top 5 pitching staff in all of baseball. Their offense is decidedly middle of the road (99 wRC+) and that is with Luiz Arraez and Jorge Soler doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Goldschmidt could immediately slot in at first base and in the heart of the Marlins' lineup and Miami has a number of young pitchers that could be interesting including Max Meyer, Jake Eder, or even the injured Sixto Sanchez if Mozeliak is looking to gamble a bit. One guy that seems right up the Cardinals' alley is Jacob Amaya who is a versatile and quality defender who is starting to show some feel for hitting. However, Miami's miserly ways are well-documented and this is another spot where Goldschmidt could veto a deal.

The Mariners are always willing to wheel and deal and could be motivated to make a deal with St Louis

We hope that all of you find something to love as much as Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry DiPoto loves to make roster moves. The Mariners are kind of competing this year in both the AL West and in the wild card race, but they are going to have to make a move for some offense. If they want to make a run at a playoff spot, their 99 wRC+ and .231 batting average isn't going to cut it in the AL playoff chase that includes some really strong teams in 2023.

Adding Goldschmidt to their roster wouldn't be an issue as they could just shift Ty France to DH if they really want to keep him in the lineup. The Cardinals would be right to ask for RHP Bryan Woo back in a trade, but a deal that includes some combination of Emerson Hancock, Cole Young, and Gabriel Gonzalez could do the trick. It is a bit debatable as to whether or not Goldschmidt would want to play in Seattle as the roster is still pretty flawed, but the Mariners do have an exciting young core at the very least.

The Phillies are all-in and Goldschmidt could give them an actual first baseman

Finally, we come to the biggest wild card this trade season in the Philadelphia Phillies. The Atlanta Braves appear to be running away with the National League East, but the Phillies are firmly in the wild card race and are coming off a deep playoff run in 2022. That on top of investing a lot of money in their roster including signing Trea Turner to a megadeal last offseason should have the Phillies very motivated to go for it at the deadline.

For a team that has a bunch of guys who aren't exactly known for their defense, first base has been a weird black hole for Philly this year. Bryce Harper is set to get some playing time there very soon, but that isn't a long term fix and acquiring Goldschmidt would be a massive upgrade there and would allow Harper to transition back to the outfield more slowly. The issue is that the Phillies' farm system isn't that great especially if Andrew Painter is hurt and/or not available in trade. Mick Abel and Griff McGarry are interesting arms at least that miss some bats and outfield prospect Justin Crawford is doing really good work in the low minors at the moment.

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