MLB Rumors: Cubs after Goldschmidt, Braves-Pirates trade, Red Sox help ‘pen
MLB Rumors: Will Cubs pursue Paul Goldschmidt trade…and would Cardinals do it?
Paul Goldschmidt could be one of the biggest prizes at the MLB Trade Deadline, if the St. Louis Cardinals even elect to move him. There’s a good case to be made that they should with only two years remaining on his contract, which will be up when he’s 37 years old and as the Cards are eyeing a move toward building for the future.
The return for Goldschmidt would be massive. He’s the reigning NL MVP who is still playing at a high level, even for a struggling Cardinals team. More importantly, the market for him should be lucrative too — and it might include a bitter St. Louis rival: the Chicago Cubs.
Such an idea was explored by Kade Kistner of Inside the Cubs.
Goldschmidt would be a perfect solution for one of the biggest problems that Chicago has had this season. Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini were offseason additions made to help solidify first base, but neither have worked. Matt Mervis, meanwhile, has struggled to fill that void as well as he may need a bit more time and development in the minors. There has even been the experiment with Cody Bellinger.
Goldy, however, changes the calculus. He’s a massive upgrade both at the plate and with his glove at the position, which would be critical for a Cubs team already appearing to be on track to overtake the Brewers in the NL Central.
The big question, though, is if the Cardinals would up the price for Goldschmidt for a trade with the rival Cubs, or if they’d even be interested in doing so at all.
It’s worth noting that the Cubs’ top three prospects are all outfielders, which doesn’t help St. Louis much at all given the fact that they could too be looking to unload their glut at the position. Even still, though, Chicago would have to pay handsomely to get the deal done. For a club with promise and potentially looking to get aggressive in order to make a run over the next couple of seasons, though, it’s still not the worst idea.