The pros and cons if the Cardinals trade Paul Goldschmidt this offseason

The Cardinals will be one of the teams to keep a close eye on this winter. Coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the fan base will expect some changes to the roster for the 2024 season. Whether it is via a big free agent signing or a big trade, we can expect the Cardinals to not make 2023 a common theme if they can help it.

As I mentioned earlier, there is nothing currently that would make anyone think that the Cardinals will trade or even explore a trade involving first basemen Paul Goldschmidt. But you could make the argument that it might make sense to move him. He is going into the final year of a 5 year 130 million dollar contract and is going into his age 36 season.

There was a considerable decline in his numbers this season which was somewhat expected after winning the National League MVP in 2022, but they were still great numbers, especially for somebody in his mid-30s. Over Goldschmidt's five seasons in St. Louis, he has been a reliable bat and glove, hitting towards the top of the order, and has played every day, as he has only missed 24 total games since 2019.

How many teams could use somebody like Goldschmidt? I am not advocating for the Cardinals to trade Goldschmidt, it would definitely be a huge loss, but like with most trades there are some potential positives and some negatives for all parties involved. There are three potential pros and three potential cons when it comes to trading Goldschmidt this off-season. We will start with the pros.