Cardinals $130 Million Superstar 'Basically Gone' After 2024 Season

Will the Cardinals bring the star back to town in 2025?

Sep 1, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (46) at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

There isn't much time left in the regular season.

The St. Louis Cardinals have done a good job of clawing back and getting over .500, but overall, the 2024 season hasn't been their year once again. St. Louis will miss the playoffs for the second straight season and when the offseason gets here needs to determine the best path forward.

St. Louis clearly needs to add, and at this point, it's too early to know what it will do. There will be plenty of external decisions that need to be made, as well as internal ones. The most pressing internal choice certainly will be whether or not to retain first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

FanSided's Christopher Kline predicted that he is "basically gone" once the 2024 season ends.

"Remember when Paul Goldschmidt won the MVP award two years ago? The dropoff has been precipitous for the Cardinals' first baseman," Kline said. "Goldy has gone from one of the most dominant all-around hitters in the sport to... fine. He's fine. The reaction to this season has probably been overblown due to the high bar Goldschmidt set for himself, but slashing .245/.304/.411 with 21 home runs and 60 RBI is an achievement for more than half the league. Goldschmidt isn't "half the league," though, he is a former MVP and seven-time All-Star...

"Several contenders will take interest in Goldschmidt's pedigree and potential to elevate the back half of a lineup, but he's probably not batting cleanup for a winner at this point. Maybe we're overreacting to a one-off cold spell, but Goldschmidt is 37 years old with 14 years of major-league baseball under his belt. A major theme of this article has been St. Louis getting younger and finding fresh legs. That probably applies to first base, too."

This isn't a report and is more speculation. But, there has been plenty of chatter about Goldschmidt's time in St. Louis possibly coming to an end.

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