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

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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