Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Fan Favorite Reportedly Could Betray St. Louis By Signing With Top Rival

Where will the beloved St. Louis star end up in 2025?

Nate Hagerty

Aug 20, 2019; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium as the sun sets during the fourth inning of a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Aug 20, 2019; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium as the sun sets during the fourth inning of a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
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The St. Louis Cardinals used to be the team to beat in the National League Central but they've fallen off the map over the last decade and are looking to get back on top.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals are entering a rebuilding phase that could make it challenging for St. Louis to compete with the reigning back-to-back NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers.

To make matters worse for the Cardinals in their division for 2025, a beloved St. Louis veteran has been mentioned as a possible option for the franchise's most bitter rival.

"Still, he (Paul Goldschmidt) has enough left in the tank to garner the attention of teams this offseason," Bleacher Report's Erick Beaston wrote Thursday when discussing his predictions on several impending free agents' futures. "One such team is the rival Chicago Cubs, who will look to improve at first base, where Michael Busch had similar stats but lacks the veteran leadership and experience that Goldschmidt would bring to the organization."

The Cubs and Cardinals have one of the most bitter rivalries in baseball and perhaps all sports. Seeing Goldschmidt wear a blue and white pinstripes uniform with Chicago next season would be an eye sore for St. Louis fans.

Despite failing to help bring the No. 12 World Series title to St. Louis, Goldschmidt is a cherished fan favorite who the passionate Cardinals fan base will greatly miss if he's not re-signed this winter, which is the expectation.

However, the five-time Silver Slugger will significantly stain his six-season legacy in St. Louis if he joins the dark side and signs with the Cubs this offseason, as he's poised to hit the free-agent market for the first time in his illustrious 14-year career.

The NL Central rivals meet again on June 23, 2025, at Busch Stadium. Could that be the next time Goldschmidt steps up to the plate at Busch Stadium?

More MLB: Ex-Cardinals $28 Million Hurler Linked To Former Team; Would Reunion Make Sense?

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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