Paul Goldschmidt is benefitting from the Cardinals lineup change

Last week, I wrote a piece about how the Cardinals needed to drop Paul Goldschmidt down in the lineup. On Sunday, they did just that, moving him to the seventh spot in the order. Sure enough, he hit a home run and helped them beat the Braves 6-2 to take the series and he picked up two hits on Monday night in the Cardinals' 2-1 loss to the Pirates.

Is it fair to say that this may have gotten Goldschmidt going again? This is what the Cardinals need if they want to return to the postseason and catch the Brewers in the NL Central. Both he and Nolan Arenado need to get going. The Cardinals have shown they can win without those two producing, but that isn't sustainable. They need them to carry their weight if they want the offense to get going. But could this be the beginning of something special?

Cardinals lineup change is benefitting Paul Goldschmidt

I know it's only been two games since the Cardinals made this lineup change, but I already like what I've seen out of the former MVP. The swings are looking better, and he's taking more competitive at-bats.

Sometimes, all a player needs is a little bit of a shakeup to get things going again. Hitting Goldschmidt cleanup was not working well for the Cardinals, and it showed. While I'm not sure about Brendan Donovan in that spot, it's clear that Goldschmidt wasn't getting it done.

But we also do know that Goldschmidt is more of a second-half player, so now might be the right time for him to get going. It's definitely weird to have him hitting seventh in the lineup when we're so used to seeing him in the heart of the order, but whatever works is what the Cardinals should go with.

If this is what it takes to get him going, then I'm all for that. Sometimes a change is what is needed to get somebody back on track. So far, Goldschmidt has handled the situation in the best way possible, by not only accepting the change but also finding another way to be an asset to this offense.

We're already seeing some improvements from Nolan Arenado, so if Goldschmidt can get back to his old ways, then the Cardinals have a few extra weapons on the offensive side. That's not to say all the issues will be fixed, as the Cardinals could use an extra right-handed bat at the deadline, but Goldschmidt's resurgence will certainly help. We'll see if he can keep it up.