Cardinals All-Star Worth Investing $18 Million In, Per Insider

The Cardinals certainly will lose some key pieces this winter

Jul 12, 2020; St. Louis, Missouri, United States; A view of empty seats as the St. Louis Cardinals play a simulated game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals clearly are making changes and the first base position is going to look different for the first time since 2018.

Superstar first baseman Paul Goldschmidt joined the Cardinals ahead of the 2019 season and has been with the team for the last six seasons. He has been a star with the Cardinals and even took home the 2022 National League Most Valuable Player Award.

He now is 37 years old, though, and clearly is nearing the end of his career. Goldschmidt is a free agent now but won't be returning to St. Louis with the club already announcing that Willson Contreras would be playing first base in 2025.

Where will Goldschmidt land? It's unclear at this point but a contender surely will give him a one-year deal. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel projected him to receive a one-year, $18 million deal and although that seems steep, said he is worth investing in.

"Projected contract: one year, $18 million," McDaniel said. "Goldschmidt's five-year, $130 million contract extension just ended, he turned 37 years old recently and the Cardinals chose not to give him the qualifying offer on his way to free agency after his worst season of his 14-year MLB career. Those facts alone would suggest he's toast and could be a candidate to retire before 2025 ends, but that's not what I see...

"If you look at his numbers before and after July 21, he was markedly different: He cut his strikeout rate 6 percent and raised his isolated power from .140 to .217. If you extrapolate his second-half production to a full season, his numbers are almost back to the 3.4-WAR version he showed in 2023. Having a chance at getting a version of that guy on a one-year deal for less than the $21.05 million qualifying offer and with no draft pick compensation attached suddenly seems like a nice opportunity without much risk."

Goldschmidt certainly will find an opportunity, but sadly it won't be with the Cardinals.

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