Cardinals Rival Called 'Doomsday' Suitor For $130 Million All-Star

Free agency should start to heat up across baseball in the near future

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals seem to be okay with letting an All-Star walk this winter.

Star slugger Paul Goldschmidt has been manning first base for St. Louis since 2019. Over that stretch, he racked up two All-Star nods and was named the 2022 National League Most Valuable Player. He now is 37 years old and just wrapped up a five-year, $130 million deal with the Cardinals.

He's a free agent and the Cardinals already have announced that fellow All-Star Willson Contreras will be playing first base for the club in 2025. It's not a bad decision by any means. In reality, it's probably the right time to move on from Goldschmidt.

But, it still would be sad for fans if he were to end up back in the division in free agency. FanSided's Zachary Rotman discussed the possibility while calling the Milwaukee Brewers a "doomsday" landing spot for Goldschmidt from St. Louis' point of view.

"Goldschmidt raked in most ballparks as a member of the Cardinals, but he has done more damage at American Family Field, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, more than pretty much any other stadium," Rotman said. "Goldschmidt has slashed .307/.380/.617 in 67 games played in Milwaukee. The 20 home runs he's hit there is tied for the third-most he's hit at any ballpark, trailing only Chase Field (home of the Arizona Diamondbacks) and Busch Stadium (home of the Cardinals).

"Knowing this, Goldschmidt can make the choice to rake at American Family Field 81 times (or close to it) next season. Admittedly, this probably won't happen now given the fact that Rhys Hoskins accepted his player option to return to Milwaukee, but the Brewers did use Hoskins at DH plenty of times last season. The Brewers do not have the DH spot filled right now. Goldschmidt can join a Brewers team that is capable of doing serious damage in 2025 and also put up some great numbers."

Hopefully Goldschmidt can find an opportunity and shine in 2025, but it would be sad if Rotman's suggestion becomes the reality.

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