Cardinals Superstar Reportedly 'Good Bet' To Land Extension Next Season

St. Louis could keep their MVP in town

Scott Neville | Jan 14, 2024

Cardinals Superstar Reportedly 'Good Bet' To Land Extension Next Season /

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are in the process of bolstering their current roster as they aim to perform far better than their last-place finish in the National League Central a year ago.

While the focus should remain on the present, their are some matters beyond the 2024 season that need to be addressed in due time, including the contract status of their most-recent MVP winner.

Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is entering the final year of his lucrative deal and will need a new contract to remain in St. Louis. Fortunately, there is some speculation that an agreement could eventually come together.

"Of (next year's free-agent class), (José) Altuve seems likely to sign an extension before hitting the open market. Two non-Boras clients, Zack Wheeler and Paul Goldschmidt, also are good bets to stay with their current clubs," The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal wrote Sunday.

Goldschmidt hit .268 with 56 extra-base hits including 25 home runs, 80 RBIs and an .810 OPS (120 OPS+) in 154 games last season.

The 36-year-old did not play up to his reigning MVP standard -- posting a National League-leading .981 OPS (177 OPS+) in 2022. However, he's still a well-above-average slugger with four Gold Gloves in his troply case.

While St. Louis very well could be interested in an extension, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said that he wants to see the season start to play out before extending the future Hall of Famer.

A Goldschmidt extension appears to be a possibility down the line but is far from imminent.

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Published Jan 14, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu