Paul Goldschmidt clouds Cardinals' judgement with potential trade deadline plans

A month or so ago, the Cardinals were in a prime position to be big time sellers at the trade deadline. They were struggling as a team and a few of their big names were struggling as well.

This includes the first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who may have been struggling as bad as ever in his lengthy big league career.

This made it easy for the Cardinals to make a decision. If they wanted to kickstart a big time rebuild, the struggling Goldschmidt had to go. Plain and simple.

But, a month later, Goldschmidt isn't struggling anymore. That leaves St. Louis in a tough spot now, with an aging team and an outside chance at the playoffs.

Paul Goldschmidt's recent resurgence leaves Cardinals' deadline plans in question

Paul Goldschmidt began the month of May 0 for his first 27 at bats. Since then, the former All-Star is 17 for 54, good for a .314 average in that time span. He's raised his season average from .190 to .222 in that time as well. He's added four homers and ten RBIs as well.

Has the former MVP found his swing? What does this mean for the Cardinals?

Hopefully for St. Louis, he has found his swing. It's more likely that he's returning to form than just experiencing some luck. As for the Cardinals, they're left with some options now.

The first option is to sell anyway. Take advantage of Goldschmidt's added value from this hot stretch and sell him while he's hot. But that would basically mean throwing the season in the trash.

While the Cardinals have seemed out of contention for most of the season, they sit just a game below .500. Need I remind you; they play in the NL Central, a division with little competition when it comes to making a run in October.

So St. Louis has another option. Don't sell. Buy.

Not only would they keep players like Kyle Gibson, Paul Goldschmidt and Ryan Helsley, who are all heavily rumored to be big time trade candidates here soon, but they would be on the market as buyers.

They could go to the market to fill the holes on their team, in their bullpen, on the pitching staff and in the lineup. The trade market is bound to be full of talent this season. St. Louis, thanks to the surging Goldschmidt, now has the option to be buyers rather than sellers.