Brian Cashman's uninspired infield fix would repeat John Mozeliak's worst mistakes

Hats off to New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman for his ability to pivot in the MLB offseason. Obviously, bringing back Juan Soto was Plan A but, that didn't happen. So for the Pinstripes to now be sitting here with Max Fried, Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams by way of their subsequent moves after falling short on Soto is a win for the front office in the Bronx.

The Yankees are an objectively better baseball team top-to-bottom on the roster with these moves than they would've been simply just losing Soto. Cashman's work, however, is not done with the biggest point of emphasis being the corner infield spots. Moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to second base would be ideal and they still need a replacement for Anthony Rizzo at first base.

With Christian Walker coming off the board on Friday with a deal to the Houston Astros, the Yankees reportedly made an immediate pivot to veteran Paul Goldschmidt, most recently with the St. Louis Cardinals. MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand reported that New York is ramping up their efforts to bring him in.

However, Cashman might be getting a bit too aggressive with that move because Feinsand also reported that the Yankees landing Goldschmidt could then pave the way for a St. Louis reunion of the first baseman and please-take-him Cardinals trade candidate Nolan Arenado at third.

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Yankees plan to add Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado would repeat Cardinals mistakes

Feinsand's report noted that the Yankees potentially adding Goldschmidt would incline Arenado to waive his no-trade clause, which he recently exercised to block a trade to Houston, for New York:

"Sources added that the veteran first baseman’s potential presence in New York could have a strong influence on former teammate Nolan Arenado waiving his no-trade clause and agreeing to play for the Yankees if New York pursues a trade with St. Louis for the 10-time Gold Glove winner. The Yankees approached the Cardinals earlier this offseason about a deal for Arenado, sources said, but they were rebuffed because St. Louis had no interest in taking on the contract of veteran right-handed pitcher Marcus Stroman."

Obviously, it seems like St. Louis will want a different deal than one that takes on Marcus Stroman's salary in return based on what happened earlier in the offseason. But this also feels completely misguided by Cashman and the Yankees — just ask John Mozeliak and the Cardinals.

For as great as Goldschmidt and Arenado were in their primes, that time has since passed. Yes, the abysmal Yankees infield defense would indubitably improve but at what cost? The bats of the former Cardinals duo have slipped dramatically and, given their age, there is a chance that's the start of a continued decline in their careers in terms of productivity.

Moreover, Cashman would be risking putting the Yankees — albeit with Aaron Judge to lessen the blow — to find themselves in a similar position to the Cardinals right now. St. Louis is on the precipice of a legitimate rebuild at this point because of their heavy investment in aging veterans. Goldschmidt and Arenado were part of that and joining a New York roster that features Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole, all well over 30, would put them in a similar risk.

Of course, if the deal with Goldschmidt is short-term, there is a chance that the Yankees simply begin posturing for next offseason and making a run at Vladimir Guerrero Jr., which would run counter the potential mistakes of reuniting the Cardinals duo. That, however, could be pie-in-the-sky considering the young Blue Jays star has outright expressed that he "hates" the Yankees and would never play for them.

For all of the good work that Cashman has done this offseason, though, the Goldschmidt-Arenado pairing would run the risk of runing a bit of that. The Yankees would surely still contend thinks to the top of the roster but could run into similar issues come the postseason with the lack of quality depth. More importantly, it would only further put into question the future plans by simply getting that much older.