STL Cardinals rumors: Ohtani trade availability, Goldschmidt deal, more

Paul Goldschmidt unlikely to be dealt, extension possible

The great debate beneath the arch this year: To trade Paul Goldschmidt or not.

In the stead of Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols, and soon Adam Wainwright, Goldschmidt is clearly a player worth keeping around for the legacy factor. St. Louis has routinely developed or acquired talent and kept those players in for the long haul. In the case of Pujols, they’ve even gone out to bring those players back.

St. Louis has a strong legacy about it, and part of the reason for that is that the organization, for the most part, has historically stood by its people, avoiding turnover.

But with the team performing like an engine on its last legs this season, some have thrown out the idea of trading Goldschmidt. The reasons are logical… He doesn’t have long left on his deal, he’s talented enough that he would secure the team a substantial payday, etc.

The reasons against it, as outlined above, are tacit to the organization’s ethos. Trading a player like Goldschmidt just isn’t what St. Louis baseball is about.

And in fact, we’re learning that trade is becoming less and less likely, with the exact opposite outcome expected. According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, rival executives think it’s more likely that Goldschmidt, with an OPS+ of 132 this season, secures a contract extension than a trade to a new home.

Either decision will help the Cardinals piece together their picture for the future. On one hand, trading Goldschmidt now ensures they can get the assets or players needed to build its team for the future. While it might make sense to trade Goldschmidt due to the short period of team control left, an extension covers those bases entirely and gives the Cardinals a key foundational piece to keep building around.