The St. Louis Cardinals let veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt walk this winter with a backup plan in mind. However, few pundits believed their plan – which was to move Willson Contreras to first base full-time – would work as well as it has. Goldschmidt has been excellent with the Yankees, don't get me wrong. However, so has Willson Contreras, who has showcased impressive adaptability to a new position.
So far this season, Goldschmidt is hitting .339 with a .881 OPS and 1.4 WAR. It's early, but there's no denying that the Yankees have brought out the best of Goldschmidt, who was wasting away in St. Louis. The 37-year-old even admitted as much, saying he hadn't played up to his standard in his final few seasons with the Cardinals. A change of scenery has done Goldy some good, but the Cards aren't suffering as a result.
In an article from ESPN's Jeff Passan, Cards starting pitcher Miles Mikolas admitted Contreras is playing some of the best first base he's ever seen.
"He might be one of the best first basemen I've ever seen," Mikolas said. "I knew he'd be bodying it up, and I knew he'd be picking it, but his range and his arm -- he's doing something special there at first base. I think he's surprising a lot of people. Probably not himself. He knows how good he is."
Cardinals defense – without Paul Goldschmidt – has propelled their early-season success
Last season, Contreras had an .848 OPS and 3.0 WAR in just 80 games played. This season, his OPS is sufficiently lower at .728, but he has more than made up for it defensively. In fact, the Cardinals as a whole are one of the best defensive teams in baseball despite losing the four-time gold glover. It's a major reason for their success so far, which has largely come out of nowhere.
"Guys wanted to take a ton of pride in their defense," manager Oliver Marmol said. "When we look at what we can control this year, we knew we were going to have our ups and downs, but we can control the effort and being locked in every pitch. And that's one thing I can say with confidence: We don't give up a whole lot. Guys are making plays left and right. They're on point. They're locked in every pitch."
The Cardinals early-season success may not last, but it won't be because of their effort in the field. Given how the last few seasons have gone, fans can't ask for much more.