Could Cardinals Replace All-Star Slugger With Hot-Hitting Prospect This Summer?

St. Louis might have a back up plan if this star player is traded

Sep 24, 2023; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Luken Baker (26) hits a / David Frerker-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals lineup has been struggling from top to bottom all season long and if things don't turn around soon, there could be a few sluggers on the trade block this summer.

Players expected to be smashing home runs and racking up hits such as Nolan Arenado, Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Gorman and especially Paul Goldschmidt haven't looked like themselves at the plate.

Of all the names mentioned above, Goldschmidt is at the top of the list of players to be traded by the Cardinals at the deadline and St. Louis might already have his replacement.

Triple-A Memphis' Luken Baker is having another impressive year at the plate in the minors and could potentially be setting himself up to take over the first base position for St. Louis if Goldschmidt ends up being traded.

Baker is batting .216 with 16 extra-base hits including nine home runs, 32 RBIs and a .803 OPS in 125 at-bats for Triple-A Memphis this season. The career .261 hitter has seen a dip in average but a first baseman's job is to damage and he's done so thus far.

The 27-year-old first baseman's stats outshine seven-time All-Star Goldschmidt's stats for 2024. The 36-year-old veteran has logged a lackluster .206/.291/.300 slash line with only four home runs and 15 RBIs.

This will be back-to-back successful seasons for Baker at the plate if he continues with the way he's going. Last season, the young slugger belted 33 home runs with 98 RBIs and recorded a staggering 1.159 OPS throughout 84 games played for Triple-A Memphis.

With Goldschmidt becoming a free agent at the end of this season combined with the fact that he's growing older and seems to be slowing down, it might be time for the Cardinals to move on and look to the future.

It'll be hard to say goodbye to Goldy but it might be in the best interest of the organization's future to start looking ahead and invest in younger talent -- especially the studs in the farm system.

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