Potential Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt reunion is Cardinals nightmare fuel

Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt were supposed to be members of the next St. Louis Cardinals World Series core. Reality did not work in their favor, however, as St. Louis has missed the playoffs in two straight seasons.

Both players are north of 30 years old – Goldschmidt by a wide margin – and thus the Cardinals are open to moving on from the duo. Goldy is a free agent and it's a well-known fact that his days in St. Louis are over. Arenado, however, is a trade asset John Mozeliak might part with for young talent this winter.

Goldschmidt, for one, has made it clear he is not retiring. The 37-year-old has more to give to the game, and would be an ideal first-base fit in a weak market, especially on a short-term deal. ESPN's Jeff Passan shed some light on Goldschmidt's market in his recent column.

"How much is left? At 37, Goldschmidt is coming off the worst season of his 14-year career. He also was much better in the second half. Between his history and makeup, Goldschmidt will find teams willing to hand him their first-base job in hopes of getting a more representative version of him," Passan wrote.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on. The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

St. Louis Cardinals could lose Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt to same team

Meanwhile, the Cards are expected to gauge the interest in Arenado, though the likelihood he is actually moved depends on the offers. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote the Cardinals would spend the time before the winter meetings figuring out if trading Arenado is worthwhile, or if they should ride out his contract.

Arenado has been linked to the New York Yankees, though Jazz Chisholm is their starting third baseman as of this writing. Chisholm has positional flexibility, while Arenado is a gold glove-winning third baseman.

What New York needs even more, of course, is a first baseman. They declined Anthony Rizzo's option, thus making him a free agent. Goldschmidt would be an ideal, cheap replacement, especially if they end up signing Juan Soto to a $600 million extension.

Mozeliak and the St. Louis front office can handle losing both players, but if they team up and win on another contender, it'll look even worse. The only way such a scenario could happen is if the Cardinals trade Arenado prior to Goldschmidt's free-agent decision. Nonetheless, it's risky business this winter for the Cards front office.