25 most important stars for MLB playoffs

19. Paul Goldschmidt

The Cardinals are going back to the playoffs after what qualifies as long drought for them, but the team doesn’t have much reason to thank its offense for leading it to a surprise division title. Yet again, the Cards struggled to put up runs, finishing 10th in the National League in runs and 11th in OPS. Aggressive moves to acquire big names like Dexter Fowler, Marcell Ozuna and Paul Goldschmidt have not paid off, while homegrown talents Matt Carpenter and Paul DeJong slumped most of the season.

St. Louis bet the farm on trading for perennial All-Star first baseman Goldschmidt and extended him to the tune of five years and $130 million. The Cardinals were betting that Goldschmidt’s down year in 2018 was more a product of Arizona introducing humidors to combat their elevation and arid climate than the 32-year-old beginning to decline.

Goldschmidt did come on strong last year after a very slow start, but never quite got untracked in 2019. His .260/.346/.476 line was the worst of his career, as was his total of 25 doubles. Goldschmidt’s typical 34 home runs also look less impressive given how many longballs were launched across the league. He is also no longer running, stealing only 10 bases over the past two seasons.

At no point this season did Goldschmidt look like a six-time All-Star and frequent top-five MVP finisher, which is very troubling since his extension doesn’t even kick in until next season. A big postseason will go a long way to calming Cardinals fans who may be worried about their big investment in an aging first baseman.