Cardinals rumors: Door left open for Goldschmidt trade, Insider thinks more moves on the way, bullpen options

Paul Goldschmidt extension talk will have to wait

With the Cardinals struggling most of last season, there was some question over whether Paul Goldschmidt and the Cardinals might part ways via a trade, St. Louis sending him to a more competitive team to squeeze some assets out of him far ahead of him hitting free agency in 2025.

After no such move was made, most assumed the Cardinals and Goldschmidt would work in the direction of a contract extension to keep him in St. Louis. Historically, the Cardinals have kept its high-level, All-Star players in-house for years upon years, and actively moving off of a player as good as Goldschmidt would feel apocolyptic to Cardinals fans.

So, how's that extension coming? Nonexistent and not in view.

Now, the lack of movement on an extension right now does not necessarily mean a trade is imminent or even likely this season. But Mozeliak's honesty here is quite refreshing. The Cardinals are in no position to be bullish on locking themselves into any one specific timeline after missing the postseason last year and going just 71-91.

Ultimately, Goldschmidt, if the Cardinals struggle again, could quickly become the ace in the pocket for the Cards. Competitive or near-competitive teams needing that one extra piece would be salivating to add an elite hitter like Goldschmidt to the fold. Him being a free agent after 2024 makes him reasonable to move off of (you don't want to lose him for nothing in the open market) and an attractive add for playoff teams since they don't have to commit their books to him for several years.

For all the reasons Goldschmidt was even a halfway reasonable trade piece last year, he's an even more attractive piece of trade bait this year.

Now, a trade is by no means the only outcome here, and it's perhaps still more likely that the two sides wind up extending. Goldschmidt, obviously, means a lot to the Cardinals, the name most closely akin to names like Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols of this era of Cardinals baseball. St. Louis values that. Goldschmidt, too, seems likely to want to stay in St. Louis as well.

This will be the biggest thing to watch off the field early in the season for Cardinals fans.