Cardinals rumors: A trade chip hint, Goldschmidt suitor, new bullpen piece
By Mark Powell
Cardinals rumors: Who could trade for Paul Goldschmidt?
The St. Louis Cardinals aren’t shopping Paul Goldschmidt, at least not yet. But the former NL MVP has a year left on his contract, and is 35 years old. If there were a time to trade him, that would be now, as the Cards would receive the most value back for him. Redbird Rants pointed this out in a recent article:
"“This would also clear the way for some players such as Jordan Walker, Juan Yepez, Masyn Winn, and Luken Baker, or could even bring in a young power bat to build around in the years to come. This may not be the year for the Cardinals, and in that case, if a team is willing to give them some Major League-ready talent, they may want to pull the trigger on the deal, especially with Goldschmidt’s contract set to expire next year, which will be his age-36 season.”"
A potential landing spot for Goldschmidt — though it’s far too early to tell what their intentions will be — are the Minnesota Twins. While Joey Gallo offers plenty in the power department, he is hitting under the Mendoza line, and is best used as a designated hitter, if at all. Minnesota is essentially .500 right now, but they still lead the AL Central, which is the worst division in baseball.
If the Twins decide to go for it and would rather not be a punching bag for the Rays and other AL contenders, acquiring Goldschmidt makes a whole lot of sense. Sending, say, 25-year-old Alex Kirilloff could help the Twins hoard their prospects rather than sending a war chest to St. Louis.
The far more likely option, of course, is that the Cards decide against trading Goldschmidt, who is a centerpiece of their core for at least the next season.