1:38pm: Bob Nightengale of USA Today adds details (via Twitter) on the incentives package included in Goldschmidt’s new contract. The slugger can earn $250k for being named an All-Star, $250k for winning a Gold Glove award, and $1.5M for winning the NL MVP. As Saxon reported earlier, Goldschmidt’s yearly earnings will tally $26MM, which comprises a $22MM yearly base salary in addition to a $20MM signing bonus that will be spread evenly across the five years of the contract.
10:17am: Goldschmidt will earn $26MM per season from 2020-24, The Athletic’s Mark Saxon reports (Twitter link).
TODAY, 8:04am: The deal is done, and the Cardinals will officially make the announcement at a press conference this morning, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports (Twitter link).
THURSDAY: The Cardinals are closing in on an extension with first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). If he passes a physical, Goldschmidt will remain a Cardinal for five additional seasons at a price of $130MM, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter), thus setting a new contractual record for the storied St. Louis franchise.
Goldschmidt is already slated to earn $14.5MM in 2019, the final season of the extension he signed earlier in his career. With five new seasons tacked on, he’ll now be under contract through the 2024 season. The new deal will afford Goldschmidt full no-trade protection but will not include any opt-out opportunities, Rosenthal tweets.
The Cards are now set to accomplish what they set out to do when they acquired Goldschmidt earlier this winter. The club made no secret of its desire to hammer out a long-term arrangement with its new first bagger. Indeed, achieving exclusive negotiating rights likely motivated the St. Louis organization to part with starter Luke Weaver, catcher Carson Kelly, minor league infielder Andy Young and a Competitive Balance Round B selection to land Goldy in the first place.
Getting the deal done now means that both the Cardinals and Goldschmidt (along with his representatives at Excel Sports Management) need not think about alternatives next winter. It surely would have been interesting to see how the star performed on the open market. It’s hardly an optimal time for a defensively limited slugger to reach the open market. The Chris Davis deal (seven years, $161MM) is scarcely three years old, but seems a relic in retrospect. We’ve seen a steady reduction in earning expectations for such players in recent years. Still, significant money has still been there for the very best players. J.D. Martinez took down $110MM over five years despite profiling as a DH. Carlos Santana and Edwin Encarnacion each commanded $20MM annual salaries over three-year terms. And first bagger Eric Hosmer — a much younger but lighter-hitting first baseman — went for eight years and $144MM.
There’s an argument to be made that Goldschmidt could have earned more on the open market. He’d have faced little competition at the top of the first base market outside of the older Jose Abreu, though there are a few notable other players available next winter. But it’s frankly difficult to argue with the decision to sign onto this contract, particularly with another year of health and performance risk still separating Goldschmidt from free agency. The Cards obviously were quite fond of their new acquisition — and, perhaps, felt no small amount of pressure to get something done. It’s no small achievement in this climate for a first baseman to secure a $26MM AAV over a five-year term that begins in his age-32 season.
Goldschmidt, of course, is no ordinary first baseman. Comparing him to his peers at first base, in fact, isn’t quite the right scope. Over the past three years — that is, not including his personal-best 2015 campaign — Goldy has been among the dozen top position players by measure of fWAR. He’s in a dead heat with Freddie Freeman and Joey Votto in that regard. Now, he’ll join that pair of star performers in securing a large and lengthy contract extension.
While the Cardinals haven’t had much time to watch Goldschmidt up close, he really doesn’t have much of anything to prove. Somehow only an eighth-round draft pick back in 2009, Goldschmidt has been an offensive sensation ever since he reached the professional ranks. He destroyed minor-league pitching while racing to the majors, showing well in his 2011 debut. Thereafter, he emerged as one of the game’s best hitters and has rarely wavered from that standard.
All told, Goldschmidt carries a .297/.398/.532 slash (144 wRC+) through 4,708 plate appearances. That’s more or less exactly what he posted last year, when he ran up 690 plate appearances of .290/.389/.533 hitting with 33 long balls. Goldschmidt didn’t have his best showing in terms of plate discipline, but his 13.0% walk rate and 25.1% strikeout rate were hardly problematic and largely reflect his career levels. He continued to sting the ball, with a career-best 46.2% hard-contact rate (per Fangraphs), though he also made soft contact with greater frequency (16.9%) than ever before.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hallelujah
Maybe they will get rid of free agency in MLB and just do extensions? Then teams couldn’t just go buy World Series championships.
Then there is no power in negotiating extensions. Teams will just pay players whatever small salary they want like it was pre free agency. Horrible idea
What if any team could extend the player? For instance, Cubs could extend Goldie on Cards. And then Goldie could serve their interests while playing for the Cards. There’d have to be some sort of blinding mechanism in place to prevent teams from knowing who pays their players, but this would fix the negotiating power problem. It might especially help down-market players, who would have much more value as double agents than they have under the current system.
What? You’re suggesting that the Cubs would pay Goldy’s salary while he’s playing for St. Louis? Just no.
The Cubs already have the best first baseman in baseball. Why would they extend a player 1 they don’t need. And 2 pay him to play for their biggest rival.
Hahaha the possibilities. Congrats on such a great concept.
Yeah, the Cubs have the BEST first baseman in MLB: right behind the Mets.
LOLz is that a for real concept? That question of someone being on drugs surely must have been a reply fail to this claim. The Cardinals have two 1B alone that are definitely better than Rizzo currently and cumulatively over the last two years. One just happens to be playing 3B because we got Goldy, who is better than both of them. Don’t be a typical blind Cubs fan. Goldy is a better hitter, defender, and baserunner than Rizzo and honestly so is Carp at this point.
Rizzo is nowhere near the best first baseman in baseball.
Wow, that’s the most ridiculous suggestion I’ve ever heard. I had to read it several times just to make sure you were saying what I thought you were saying.
Clearly, a limited version of this double agent system is already in place, and explains Grandal’s performance in the playoffs.
60 year Cub fan here. Rizzo is fabulous, very consistent year to year. You can bank on 30 and 100 every year. But Goldschmidt is better.
I hate how many posters on here make posts like they are working for the cheapskate owners of all the teams, like jussssst slide that in on there “yes why DONT we make things even worse for players!!!!”
Are you on drugs?
Meth at your finest!
Even drugs don’t explain that line of thinking.
Extensions are possible when your agent’s last name isn’t “Boras”.
Stephen Strasburg signed an extension with Boras as his agent. Otherwise Boras manipulates his clients to leave their comfort zone and talks them into it’s all about money. Basically saying you’ll never win a championship.
If kris Bryant was smart he’d drop him and get the same agent as mike trout
If you dont think MLB owners, or any pro sports owner isnt about maximizing their earnings you are totally naive. Love him or hate him Boras is 100% correct in trying to maximize his clients earnings. Boras clients dont work for Boras, Boras works for them. Go look in other areas, where agents and representatives negotiate for theit clients. If that person isnt considered ” the bad guy”n I’ll show you someone who isnt doing their job for their clients.
All of our careers would be better off, if we had someone like Boras negotiating our salaries.
your bonkers. Boras is an agent not the leader of a cabal. he might be a jerk …..but his job is to get the best situation for his clients. i absolutely believe he does his vets a disservice, especially in this new age of analytics, but he probably wins so massively that his losses mean little.
Sheesh people. Don’t be so literal. He was joking. Todd, you get a thumbs up for being funny. The rest of you … where did my dislike button go … oh yeah. You may not see it. But the rest of you got a thumbs down.
You may be giving out thumbs down, but I’m giving you the gas face.
Indeed. I would have had no problem with 5/$150. Know what? Mo, this gives you enough free money to go get Keuchel.
Keuchels numbers are on a major decline that’s why nobody is touching him for what he wants picking him up would be like when the Cards brought Hudson or worse when the Giants had him.
He’s still better than 60% of pitchers in the league and has a proven Cy Young ceiling. He plays in an extreme hitters park. Do the math. He deserves minimum 5/90 and so does Kimbrel.
I see a corolation here. And yes “Hallelujah”
Paul Goldschmidt was traded from “Phoenix” Arizona D-Backs to STL Cardinals. So whats a Phoenix in mythology? A RED BIRD!
Gold-Schmidth is from Gold+Smith.
The Louis in Saint Louis = As the name of a French GOLD coin 17c.-18c., short for Louis d’or, from the French kings of that name (originally Louis XIII) pictured on the coins.
Louis the XIII = Paul’s $130,000,000 contract.
Who is Agent Smith in the Matrix?
phoenix (n.)
Old English and Old French fenix, from Medieval Latin phenix, from Latin phoenix, from Greek phoinix, the mythical bird of Arabia which flew to Egypt every 500 years to be reborn
500 years = Paul’s 5 year contract
Well, not really.
fox471 parasitic comment
Can not wait to see the contract It is a great time with both the Cardinals and Goldschmidt.
“It is a great time with both the Cardinals and Goldschmidt” How exactly is that when they haven’t made the playoffs in three seasons, and the Cubs and Brewers are better?
no they’re not
Until the Cardinals finish ahead of those teams..Yes They Are
it’s 2019 not 2018 or 2017, quit living in the past
Cards suck haha…..yes, I am a biased Brewers fan. I am really excited to watch the NL central battle it out this summer.
They absolutely are. Hell, Cincinnati may be better
CiNcInNaTi mAy Be BeTtEr
You can say they’re better on paper all you want, but like Bocephus said, until they finish ahead of the teams that beat them in the most recent year, they aren’t better. “On paper” is subjective.
Ry you definitely get it. How much more plane can we make it for them? Oh also haven’t we been hearing about that great Cardinals pitching for about three years now.
mY keYBoaRD !$ br0k3N tt0o
Please, don’t harm my team. I’ll pay the ransom.
So, during the 11 Cardinals WS, the 19 NL Pennants, the many division titles, etc., you are admitting the Cards were better than the Cubs.
Thanks!
The cardinals are looking pretty good this year. It’s a good time to be a fan of any of those 3 teams (and even the Reds!). Things should be competitive and interesting
The Cubs and Brewers are by no means “better” than the Cardinals. They all have question marks and health issues, just like every team. You have to wait until the games are played and the division winner in the books before you get to see who is actually better, and you are in denial if you think this won’t be a three team race
cubs have a better lineup and rotation. brewers have a better lineup and bullpen. cardinals have a very weak outfield and a weak bottom four or five in the lineup. I think there is a reason to believe that cubs and brewers are better.
Bader is gonna have a monster year
That’s why baseball is fun. A lot of people would disagree with your assessments (not to mention you conveniently omitted the massive advantage the St. Louis rotation will give them), then add in the fact that the numbers last year don’t matter – players improve, decline, change their swings, get hurt, become healthier, etc.
Brewers RPs are dropping like flies.
you could describe the cardinals outfield as many things, but “very weak” is not one of them. your bias is showing
Fowler is toast. Speed based game and he is 32. He might improve slightly from his horrible 2018, but his glory days are past. Bader may turn out to be a decent CF because he plays such good defense but his bat is decidedly meh. .264/.756 with 12 HR is not exciting. Ozuna is still hurt. He has looked bad in spring training so far and his .280/.758 with just 23 HR was pretty pedestrian last season. Hitting even that well in 2019 will be a miracle. When he said that the Cardinals OF is weak he hit the nail on the head.
Bader was worth 4.4 WAR, capable of 20 hrs and 40 steals given a full season, and Ozuna is still dangerous, more so now that he’s healthy. Martinez is still on the team, and is an offensive force. Don’t let the rumor he can’t play defense too much thought. Better than the Brewers or Cubs? Well, we have 162 games to figure it out.
I’m a Cardinals fan and that’s patently untrue. Bader’s never stolen close to that many bases at any level, and he’s only average-ish success rate wise. He’s really bad against RHP since being drafted, and there’s quite a few of those u in MLB. He’s more likely to be a Kevin Kiermaier defense-heavy guy value wise, which is still great.
lineup yes, rotation is debatable..
Ozuna could do better that is for sure, but to say meh to a .280 average in an outfield position is a bit crazy..not everyone can have an all-star outfield hitting .300 like you I guess
Exactly, if defense heavy is a player type then center is best place for it. the corners are where power and offense taken place these days.
Compared to who’s outfield?
Cubs OF? Schwarber defensive liability 26hrs and 61rbi’s last year .238 batting average, a hurt Ozuna grades better. Advantage Cards. Almora Jr or Happ in CF. Bader’s Meh bat and elite D make the advantage Cards. Heyward defense was way down. His bat is below average. O’Neil who should start for the Cards and will unless fowler comes back strong grades .2 war less than Heyward. O’Neil is still a kid with massive potential at the plate and is above average on D. So tell me again how Cubs OF is a strength compared to the Cards?
The Cubs rotation is not better. More expensive, yes, but not better.
Not going to argue any of the other points, but do wonder how much credibility this should get when the poster is living in analysis from 2017. Schwarber was an abomination of an outfielder in 2017. In 2018 he was one of the higher graded outfielders…… Defensive liability is just incorrect, and his numbers are partially because he was largely splitting time for a majority of the season. Not saying that he is better than Ozuna, just pointing out that your assessment of him is basically saying “he can’t defend and here are some stats I just googled”
Oh no they haven’t made the playoffs in three years…wow…thanks for the update…if you want to talk about the past then they also have the most World Series wins in the NL
A high-quality organization.
A high-quality player.
Among the best and most knowledgeable fans in MLB.
Great fit!
___
Now all the kids on here are about to find out what the national reporters covering ST have found – the quality and depth of the Cardinals starting pitching is simply unbelievable. Made even more stunning by teams going to an “Opener” because they don’t have 4-5 starting pitchers.
A high quality player and person no doubt.
A low quality organization that has been caught cheating on several occasions and hasn’t made the playoffs since the Astros changed their password.
A few great fans but mostly a bunch of conceited jack wagons who think their self titled “best fans in baseball” nonsense is true, which is far from the truth. Their stadium is empty if they don’t play good enough for the fair weather fans.
Starting rotation is good but not great, lots of question marks just like every other team. Nobody out side of east Missouri gives a crap about the “cardinal way”
You’re jealousy is showing…big time
“You are jealousy is showing.” What does that mean?
I can’t hold your hand through life nor through chats padresfan…figure it out yourself
supposed to be “your” obviously
Extension szn
Can we buy a vowel?
N
Hahahaha
That word needs an extension.
It was meant to be ironic lol
5 years for 110 million seems pretty cheap for a guy like goldy
a bit, but he is 31 already
No way. Not for a 32 year old (when he would be a FA) first base only dude coming off an off year (albeit still good). That’s a big number for that position and age.
He was the best player in baseball from May-September. His April and May was easily the worst slump of his career though
Goldschmidt is pound for pound one of the best all around players in the game.. what are we discussing here? his hitting going? his power in particular? his average? I mean his defense is superb, as well as his speed for a 1B.. he was going to command a decent salary on the 1B market regardless. why not the Cardinals sign him? bc he’s 31-32? you do know that his track record says he’ll be more of a Nelson Cruz than a Ryan Braun (hitting wise, not position obviously).The guy is extremely durable.
Makes sense. This organization has the appeal of bringing people over via trade and then signing them longer-term.
Two words: Jason. Heyward.
Two words: Bullet. Dodged.
Two words: That’s. Irrelevant.
Two words: Matt Holliday
@gatewaytothebest You mean the guy who waited until he was a free agent to sign a long-term deal with STL and only did so after they offered him more money than everyone else did?
Speaking of irrelevant. If you ever go listen to an interview with Holliday, he had already decided on St. Louis long before free agency, he waited to get his payday. So despite the appearances of the deal, the strategy worked for one of the few players that actually lived up to their large deal
Unless you can drop a link to a credible source that says someone else offered Holliday more money than STL did he would have still signed there even if they hadn’t traded for him first. His situation was closer to that of Rich Hill. Dodgers traded for him in advance of his free agency then offered him more $ than everyone else to keep him.
You mean the same guy that slashed .293/.380/.494 with a .874 OPS and a 138 OPS+ along with 156 home runs and 616 runs batted in which also included 4 all star selections for them?
@Solar Flare
m.imgur.com/gallery/tyTc1Nl
Lol just because Holiday waited till free agency doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good strategy to trade for him…really it is the same concept except he waited till free agency..Jason Heyward waited till free agency…so under your logic he shouldnt count either
Trading for Holliday wasn’t good strategy cuz he would have signed there even if they hadn’t traded for him.
Unless you drop a link to a credible source that says Holiday would have signed in St. Louis even if They hadn’t traded for him….stop acting like you know what Holiday would or wouldn’t have done…and for that matter what St. Louis would have done…listen I’m glad that the padres are finally becoming relevant but don’t turn into an obnoxious cub fan because your team has finally started to climb out of the gutter…at least the cub fans waited till they won a World Series
They won the division largely because of the Holliday acquisition in 2009. Even if you don’t include the benefit of him signing with St. Louis after (which is ridiculous, but hey), he led them to a division title, that trade was well worth it.
Holliday had Boras I believe
They offered him the most money in FA. Unless you believe that Holliday would have taken a pay cut to play elsewhere if they hadn’t traded for him first then absolutely he would have signed with STL no matter what.
There is no “benefit of him signing in St. Louis.” He would have done that even if they hadn’t traded for him. I’ve proven this.
you don’t know if St. louis would have offered him that much money if they wouldn’t have traded for him…once again you act like you know what would have happened when you don’t…of course he would have gone to the cardinals if they offered him the most money but you don’t know if the cardinals would have offered that if they hadn’t traded for him geezz…
That doesn’t affect their actual ability to offer him all that money.
No it doesn’t you are right but you don’t know if they would have even made an offer if they didn’t trade for him…You try to use Heyward as an example but dismiss Holiday…can’t have both ways
You’re missing the point. The only way your argument works is if you are trying to say the Cards had to trade for Holliday to be able to offer him all that $.
Holliday and Heyward both prove my point cuz neither one signed an extension or took a discount to stay in STL.
My favorite poster child for opposing guaranteed contracts.
Not the same ballpark. Enjoy hosmer and the 128m you owe him
They owe him $119m and how does that have to do with anything?
Padres Jason Hayward erect half the WAR
Except
Jason Heyward averages 68 RBI, 16 HR with a .263 batting average each full season. Goldschmidt averages 105 RBI. 31 HR with a .297 batting average each full season. Both are Gold Glove defenders.
Your Heyward comparison is way off. A more appropriate comparison would be Jim Edmonds.
m.imgur.com/gallery/tyTc1Nl
Nooooooooooooooo
So many extensions lately. I like it, but I don’t since I’m an A’s fan and we apparently didn’t get the memo.
You guys ll extend Khris Davis before long
stax. The A’s Owner doesn’t spend money.
The extension party rolls on.
Yessssss!
How could Arizona not afford $21MM per year for him?
Because they got three players they felt strongly about in exchange for a 1B that is about to decline.
Weaver will thrive in the desert
Not in that park.
Unbelievable, right? Give Yasmany Tomas $69M sight unseen, $206M to an aging Greinke and take a dump on the face of the franchise. If $110M-$150M for Goldy is too rich for their blood, then the Dbacks are hopeless. If he ever makes it to the HOF the Dbacks don’t deserve to be his team.
Arizona know things St Louis doesn’t know about Goldschmidt
Good for anyone who doesn’t actually take the field or those that root against the Cards. Did Arizona simply not ask though? I can’t imagine this deal wouldn’t have worked for Arizona.
Goldy will be 31 soon and free agency sucks now so this is smart for him and the cardinals. Finally me underrated himself gets his big payday !!
Goldy will not hit out of Arizona and Colorado for lot of his games.
“Reds extend Yasiel Puig” – 1 hour from now probably
actually i wouldn’t be surprised if bumgarner got extended at this rate
#extensionmania2019
Extension Week continues
Wheeee! Great hands at first for awhile for a change. And with Fowler and Ozuna smacking dingers today, this year could be a freakin’ hitfest!! Looking forward to it!
Yeaaaahhh!!
Hahaha cubs
? were the cubs expecting him to reach FA?
Hahahaha White Sox fans with Cubs on the brain.
This dude’s comments are about 95% cubs. Definitely an inferiority complex going on
He does troll Yankees articles pretty hard. I think he has in inferiority complex in general.
It’s gonna be fun watching this guy crush that pitiful cubs pitching staff. He might be my early MVP pick this year.
Trolls don’t get MVP votes.
Truth hurts.
the white sox have the worst pitching staff in baseball. also, where’s Manny and Bryce?
Gotta beat out Bryant and Rizzo first. Two words skippy..Not Happening!!
Great deal for the Cards and great to have Goldschmidt around long-term. This deal as well as the way Knizner is hitting makes the loss of Carson Kelley an afterthought. Goldie will be fun to watch in St. Louis
Yea but Kelly is having a great spring…I hope he works out in Arizona
I put Kelly in the same boat as Voit – they may both turn out to be very good players, but they never would have had a shot in STL, and I doubt either would’ve been able to even build up their trade value any higher in STL.
Exactly, same as Dan Haren when he left, he went on to do great things but gotta be proud that he started in STL. can’t keep them all.
Good hitting catchers are scarce these days because the hottest-hitting catching prospects are soon moved to 1B or OF. This usually happens early in a guy’s minor-league career to save the guy’s legs (and thus his bat) for the long haul.
I mean ya, that could be a huge pick up for the DBacks and I hope he works out too. But he still ended up being a spare part here even with all of that potential, you can’t start two catchers at once. Well worth the huge upgrade Goldschmidt is
Totally agree I was just actually checking up on Kelly the other day and saw that he was doing well…I hope the dbacks make him the starting catcher out of spring
They won’t be playing for October this year, so no reason not to. He’s definitely got nothing left to prove at AAA
This is sweet for the Cards. Awesome. I was waiting for this extension.
Refsnyder is next…..
Great deal for both sides. Goldy has been underpaid until now yet the market hasn’t been too kind to players over 30 lately.
I think he’ll age well and Cards fans will enjoy having him for the next 5 years.
Guys at Cot’s MLB contracts working overtime today…..
If I want to extend anyone over 30, it’s gotta be Goldschmidt. His game and position would have to be the best bet to age well. He swings within himself, not too violently. He kind of reminds me of Holliday in that he is that complete hitter that will be effective even if he isn’t in the running for an MVP.
With players avoiding free agency, you can trade for a player and sign them to a extension.
If those figures are correct or close to it then seems like good value for the Cards.
“It’s hardly an optimal time for a defensively limited slugger to reach the open market.”
3 gold gloves, one in 2018?….
lol????????
2017 not 2018, but your point is made. I questioned the “defensively limited” line myself. No on would confuse him with Keith Hernandez, but 3 GG in 6 years is pretty damn good.
I thought that was odd too.
I think they were trying to refer to the fact that he only plays one position with no versatility. But yes, he’s one of the best defensive 1B in baseball
I interpreted “defensively limited” to mean Goldschmidt is limited to 1B, a position that inherently limits defensive value (and therefore market value). Relative to other 1B (i.e. stats like DRS), he’s posted positive defensive marks every season since 2012. Relative to all defenders (i.e. stats like dWAR and DEF), his defensive value has been negative over the same span. Positional adjustment (-12.5 runs/162 games) kills 1B, even one as good as Goldschmidt.
“Postional limitations” he could of just said “only plays first base” uses less words even…you can interpret it how you want. Its poorly written.
This is great news !!!
Even at $200 mil. for 5 years is a deal to me. They seem to be getting him cheaper.
If Goldy & Ozuna have protect each other in the line up & have great seasons…There is no reason the Cardinals should not compete for the Championship.
$40m/yr is a “deal” for you? Mike Trout got $35m! Goldy will be 32 when this deal kicks in, declining and limited to 1B. Overpay, but an acceptable one.
Not really..the Cardinals don’t need him to play “D” all over the field, they have that in other positions, it’s his hitting and off the field variables that make him worth it.. the locker room presence on top of solid #3 hitter makes 26mil a year welllllll worth it. we pay yadi 20 to lead and command the rotation and do a little hitting on the side. Money ball doesn’t always need to be played..don’t need a 4 position player to be a valuable one.
The past 2 free agent classes have made extensions look good. Good job owners, make free agency look so bad that guys don’t want to risk it. When does the reserve clause come back?
Did the Diamondbacks even try?
He is a good hitter and smart to take the contract. Free agency may not have been as kind for a 1B only player, especially if he shows any type of decline this year.
I love all these extensions. However I do think Goldy could’ve scored more on the open market
Better than Harper in all aspects of the game. Way cheaper. Nice job Phillies! More money is not always better. $ do not = wins.
Are you saying Phillies would have been better off trading for Goldy and keeping Rhys in LF than signing Harper?
I think he is saying that.
I’ll say it too—Harper is officially the most overrated player in baseball. I understand why the Phils signed him though (put butts in seats). Still, their fans are set up for major disappointment, since the roster is average at best.
better than the white sox pitiful roster, bet you would’ve said he’s pretty much the second coming if he signed with the white sox.
lol, I wanted Machado.
In regards to the pitiful Sox roster, agreed.
If you really look at it though, over half the entire MLB is pitiful. We have the yankees to thank for it too. Their revenue sharing idea amounts to hush money for billionaire owners of small/medium market teams. So, if you want a true competitive league, instead of the rigged facade we get year-in, year-out, support a salary cap for major league baseball.
I honestly don’t know why the White Sox didn’t just guarantee those last 2 years. Especially if Machado was so guaranteed to have those options vest anyway as they claim. He would have signed with CWS if they had matched the Padres’ offer.
Also, support the abolition of steal signing, PEDs, and homeplate umpires. Let’s clean up the game. Teams should win the old fashioned way, not the “yankee” way (cheating).
When was the last time the Yankees won anything? Or the Dodgers?
A lineup with Hoskins, Segura, Realmuto, Harper and McCutchen is “average at best”
And you’re right, a guy who won the MVP at 22 years old, has a career OPS of .900 and hasn’t even hit his prime years is totally the most “overrated player in baseball”
Stop….
All that money on Luis Robert… how’s his timeline coming along?
I live in Phoenix half the year. D’back fans are NOT pleased with their loss. I try not to laugh hysterically.
I can’t blame them, because he’s a perennial All Star and MVP candidate that has always raked and is on a Hall of Fame path.
Enormous overpay for a 1B only player that already reached 30.
Showing zero signs of declining, a gold Glover and would’ve been the top 1B on the market next year. Smart move by the Cards
No one shows any signs of decline until they start declining. It isn’t a video game where everything happens predictably and gradually.
Pujols and Howard both went from elite to trash in literally one year. Same with Felix. Kershaw was the epitome of consistency and then all of a sudden had body injuries 4 times in one year.
Pujols showed signs of decline in his last season with the Cardinals and his first with the Angels before the wheels fell off. Howard’s fall came with his physical fall in the NLDS when he tore his Achilles tendon…but that was an injury-induced decline, which has nothing to do with his age. Just ask Allen Craig about his foot. And Kershaw is a starting pitcher, a position and role who’s aging curves, injury histories, and years of expected effectiveness are far different that a position players.
Signs of decline happen, but people usually don’t notice them, because the great player has so far to fall.
Goldschmidt is one of the best hitters in the league (4th in OPS since the 2012 season, with Mike Trout first) and a Gold Glove 1B, which, by the way, is a position that probably doesn’t have the wear and tear that, say, a 3B or CF gets. Your view of “enormous overpay” is utterly inaccurate, unless you think this is 1999.
Injuries correlate very strongly with age. There’s no such thing as “nothing to do with age.” Age affects everything, from immune system to the ability to heal and strengthen after an injury. That’s why many standardized surgeries (wisdom teeth, tonsils, etc…) are pushed at a young age, because young people recover quicker and with fewer complications.
Pujols had injury history though, Goldie is about the opposite when it comes to health.
Very true, but your argument actually validates Goldie bc he’s never really been injured, and is a poster boy for health.
Yeah, but then there’s a history of injuries, like there was with Pujols,who had been nursing a couple of conditions for several seasons.
There isn’t any of that for Goldschmidt.. Just like there isn’t for Yadier Molina, who even had his nuts exploded by a Hicks fastball and still came back in the same and played well. How did his age affect his recovery?
My point with Craig is that he was a young player who had been healthy outside of some freak injuries, and then another freak injury with his foot derailed his career at age 28. His career-altering injury had nothing to do with his age, same as Ryan Howard’s (a torn Achilles tendon is something anybody can do. I know; my cross-country career in college ended because of it.).
When it comes to an individual player’s health, you cannot apply a blanket view. Goldschmidt is exactly the type of older player you can hand a 5-year contract to and figure you’re going to get good value out of it, especially for one of the best players in the game. All multi-year contracts are a risk, and your original statement is unmoored from that reality.
$26 million a year enormous overpay for the best 1B in baseball? I hope your brain came with a lifetime warranty.
If he regresses to being a .260/.360/.500 gold glove quality player he’s still worth every penny.
Keep in mind the Cardinals don’t have any 1B on the horizon.
no, actually, in that event he is worth 30 pennies on every dollar.
Reflectthats just ignorant. He is one of the best bats in baseball.In comparison a deficit fielder in Harper just signed to age 39 at a similar per year amount and Goldschmidtis a far superior hitter. Reflect on that
“defensively limited slugger”. Does this writer know anything? He should be let go. Goldy has 3 Gold Gloves. Do your homework before you write such a dumb comment.
Speaking of dumb comments, you trying to get Jeff Todd fired from MLBTR is completely dumb.
Goldy is absolutely “defensively limited” in that he’s a 1 position player. He’s not suddenly going to be able to transition to 3rd or the OF.
But not for the Red Birds, who have been absolutely miserable defensively at 1B for a while now. Not only does this make the Cards’ right side of the infield the best in Baseball, pitchers can now throw to first without worrying about mishaps, increasing Yadi’s ability to throw runners out, it allows Wong to play closer to second, bettering his DP plays, makes it difficult for other teams to advance the runner by bunt, and allows Carpenter to move to third where he is at least average, and lets Gyorko spell him. Plus his baserunning ability gives the Cards the opportunity to move him to the #2 spot in the order, where he can use his speed.
exactly, it depends on the teams needs as far as value as well. everyone tries to make a universal estimation and while we can get close, a team like the Cards who need a solid #3 hitter is going to value him more than a team like Yankees who have Judge, Stanton, and so many more already.
“It’s hardly an optimal time for a defensively limited slugger to reach the open market.”
He’s only got 3 gold gloves. While he’s limited to first base, he’s not a limited defender.
If he wasn’t a limited defender he wouldn’t be limited to first base. That’s inherent in the definition of “limited.”
Using that logic, are all catchers and pitchers defensively limited?
not really, a lot of catchers play 1st and you don’t really know with pitchers because teams don’t want to risk injury with them
No, it’s just poor writing….what Todd probably meant was “defensively limited to 1B”.
But the way he wrote it says that Goldschmidt is a defensively limited 1B.
Which is extremely wrong, considering Goldy is one of the best defensive 1B in the league.
That’s fair.
awesome!!!
In what world is a power hitter with 3 gold glove awards a defensively limited slugger?
I think it’s good news. Our bats are coming alive. At least against the Yankees with numbers 75 and higher
Where are all the commenters that talked so much trash about how cardinals can’t extend their top players? And then they pointed to Jason Heyward as their crutch? Looking pretty dumb now.
Yes and as Goldy said after he was acquired it’s an honor to play with a storied organization like the StLouis Cardinals. And the trolls kept saying how the Cards gave up way too much for a one year rental and that he would be gone soon because no one wants to play there. Well it’s obvious now that’s not the case. The Cards have had such a long run after dominating the NL Central for most of this century. They’ve had a couple down years but now once again ready to take back the reigns. Ya just can’t keep em down long. Actually only for a blink in time over the long run.
Here is St. Louis, who let Albert walk, and never regretted it, signing Goldie. Did they not learn from the Angels’ folly? At least it’s for a shorter term than Albert got.
This was more in line with what they wanted to give Pujols I think.
Lol ok skippy. Keep acting like the Cards weren’t genuinely upset when Heyward snubbed them.
Of course people were upset. How would you not be? Especially after the comments he made about the cardinals core being old and their window being closed. It was insult to injury. However, the point was that all the trolls and ignorant rival fans on here talked so much smack like the cardinals don’t have a history of extending players or changing players perception of the organization to a positive one. The fact that those same trolls and ignorant people took the one case of a player who, in hindsight, wasn’t worth the extension anyways, ended up declining and going to a rival club as the pillar of their argument in why Goldy wouldn’t sign an extension makes them look like even bigger fools now.
Actually the point is that they were saying all the same stuff about Heyward 4 years ago that they were saying about Goldy this offseason and he didn’t stay in STL. The fact that he hasn’t made good on his contract doesn’t change this.
There isn’t just one case. There’s also Matt Holliday who Cardinals fans LOVE to bring up but in reality, only signed with STL after they offered him the most money in FA.
Cardinals extended Rolen, Edmonds, McGwire. And Holliday chose to stay with cardinals. Heyward chose to leave money on the table to go to cubs so your point about the most money for Holliday becomes irrelevant. In fact, your entire point is irrelevant because the point of my original comment is the cubs trolls pointed to Heyward as their crutch when their are more examples of Cardinals extending stars than not. Keep trying though.
Holliday still would have signed in STL if they hadn’t traded for him first. And three players like fifteen years ago don’t really prove anything.
Lol that’s what all the trolls say, acting like 15 years ago is the dead ball era. Get over it. More prominent cardinals sign extensions than not. Now you can add Mikolas and Goldy to the list.
Mikolas was 4 years out from free agency lol. Huge difference. Huge difference.
What are you talking about? Mikolas signed a 2 year deal last year with the Cardinals and then signed his extension this year in the second year of his deal. Pay attention and do some research before commenting you clown.
He also only has two years of Major League service time. So unless I’m missing something the Cards would have controlled him through 2022 via arbitration without the extension. And you might wanna watch it with the “clown” remarks buddy.
No, he was released by the Rangers when he went over to Asia. The Cardinals signed him as a free agent. Do you even pay attention or research before blindly commenting?
You’re missing the point dingus. Players usually can’t become free agents until they have 6 full years of service time unless they get non-tendered. Mikolas has two. So unless there is some rule I am not aware of he would have been eligible for salary arbitration next year if not for the extension.
The Rangers released him. Releasing a ML player grants them free agency. Even had he only pitched 1 season in the majors, that release would grant him free agency. That nullifies team control years.
You really dont have a clue do you padre? If Mikolas didn’t sign an extension he would be on the open market next season.
Lol lol lol lol lol lol padresfan…give up you are wrong
You are missing something. The arbitration process doesn’t apply to Mikolas because he played overseas, he was a free agent after his deal was up
Releasing a player grants him FA but if he signs with someone else he is still under control by his new team until he has 6 years of service time.
@themed no he would have been arbitration eligible
@cards81 I know you want to think that
@stan Lee the manly Puig played overseas and the arbitration process still applied to him. Dodgers signed him to a 6-year contract but because he had spent some time in AAA he failed to accrue 6 full years of service time and was arbitration eligible this offseason. Dodgers tendered him a contract then flipped him to the Reds.
dude…seriously do some research and you will find out how wrong you are….at this point in time you just look foolish
QUESTION: Miles Mikolas signed a 2-year deal to take him through 2019. Will he be a free agent after 2019 or would he become arbitration eligible after 2019 based on his service time?
GOOLD: I’m glad someone brought this up in the chat because I receive two, three, four emails a week about this, and another handful of questions on Twitter. Frankly, I’m at a loss for how often something must be written for it to enter the bloodstream as fact — or what has spurred this new round of questions about Mikolas’ contract. Whatever it is, let’s get this out there, in cement and be done with it:
MIKOLAS WILL BE A FREE AGENT AFTER 2019.
This is a fact.
When Mikolas started entertaining offers he sought a one- or two-year contract so that he could be a free agent at 31. He did not want to come to the majors and wait until his mid-30s to have the next bite of the apple. The Cardinals were at least open to a three-year offer, but that didn’t fit Mikolas’ window. It is written into his contract that he will be a free agent at the end of its term. Seunghwan Oh had the same thing written into his contract — and that’s why he was a free agent with two years of service time in the majors and not still under Cardinals control this past winter. For contrast, Aledmys Diaz did not have that clause entered into his contract, so even at the end of his four-year deal the Cardinals had multiple years of control because then he entered the service time equation.
I hope this clears things up for people,,especially padresfan who thinks he knows all
Ok so I was wrong about that. And based on what Goold said it sounds like a lot of people missed that and Mikolas had to have it written into his contract that he could become a FA after 2019 otherwise he was arbitration eligible by default. I know Yoenis Cespedes had a similar clause in his contract. That was actually what I was referring to when I said “Unless I am missing something.”
Either way, Goldy and Mikolas are the only recent ones and y’all said it was guaranteed that Heyward would sign an extension 4 years ago. And guess what? It didn’t happen.
Have a nice day. And try to not be so arrogant and pretentious on here.
try to do some research next time before you are so full of yourself
who is y’all…..lol no one i know said Heyward was guaranteed
Looks like a lot of people needed to do research on the matter as Goold said he was asked the same question multiple times.
Cardinals fans on this site said Heyward was guaranteed to sign an extension.
He is a known cub killer. Will rake for cards and they should get good value. Man this sucks.
Classic cards, not a fan at all but really strong move by them.
This makes that trade an A+ cardinals know how to do it! Nice!
This is the new way of doing business in baseball, trade and extend. Free agency will continue to become less relavant in the years to come.
Very good news.
Cardinals lineup has a world of potential, but a lot of things need to go right. This is a step in the right direction concerning the future.
You can make an argument that Goldie’s numbers are as good as Trout. Look at his BARF and DRiP numbers for the last 8 years… kills Fishboy.
That post is barf.
Don’t forget his P.O.O.P (Projections Out Of Phoenix)
Poop and barf is what cubs fans will be doing at wrigley field by June. It will be epically entertaining.
You’re making Sox fans look moronic.
You’re making cubs fans look moronic. #fixed
$130mil/5yrs. This seems like a heck of a deal for the Cardinals. Imagine the disgust felt by every other (contending) owner after reading about this. Special thanks to Jason Heyward for choosing the Cubs instead. Also would like to give a shout out to Stanton and Price.
Great signing; past trends should result in similar future stats. Outfield seems cluttered without a proven player who has had year over year consistently good stats. Where are the Reggie Sanders, Lance Bergmans, Larry Walkers…etc
Well, looks like the MLB players union theory about clubs not signing players just went out the window. Teams signed six players to 1.5 billion this offseason.
Bregman $100 mil
Goldy $130 mil
Arenado $260 mil
Machado $300 mil
Harper $330 mil
Trout $360 mil
Too me it just seems like the trash in the league isn’t worth the money they are looking for. These players need to wake up.
The players signed/extended in your comment are all top 10 offensive performers in the league. Foundations to build a team around.
Then there are players like Jose Iglesias, who was worth 2.2 WAR last year and wound up with only a minor league contract.
The middle class veteran player is still mostly scratching for jobs and pennies, with teams leaning on younger, cost-controlled but less proven players instead. Players were okay with that early bargin financial status and lack of control in their careers, because they used to make up their money when they became free agents. That’s not happening anymore, and that’s a problem. Players aren’t going to stand for an unofficial version of the reserve clause.
What’s with all these extensions and contracts with no opt outs. Opt outs are the smartest thing to ask for.
Opt outs make no sense for the team
Opt outs make no sense for the team that is handling a superstar player.
Opt outs make all the sense in the world for the Chicago Cubs and their MVP-caliber right fielder.
Hence him not opting out
You can’t have it both ways. Players ultimately want the security of a longterm contract. They should be willing make a commitment in exchange.
The Diamondbacks are a poorly ran organization. They traded the face of their organization who also happens to be the best player they ever had. Yet they signed Grienke to a ridiculously enormous contract that will blow up in their faces. So dumb. I am pretty sure they could have signed Goldy for a similar extension.
Two different regimes. Pretty much everyone realizes that the regime that signed Greinke had no idea what they were doing.
Two different regimes, same stupid ownership.
The ownership is the biggest problem for sure… any way us fans can vote out an owner?
The way ownership has had a short leash with GMs in the past…. and the mind-boggling hiring of Tony LaRussa and Dave Stewart…
They’re finally on the right track with Hazen… I just hope they give him a legitimate chance
Bargain- he’s a stud
Good ole St. Louis hometown discount, he must love it there
Not sure if this is sarcasm? This deal seems fair
Go Texas State Bobcat!
And scouts kept denigrating him all through his minors career. Shows you something about the Diamondbacks!
What a stinkjob by D’Backs.
What was the plan, get some players by trading their best and franchise player , and then go after Goldy one year later in FA, hahahahah sure Cards will wait and would love that.
Unreal, and some people in that front office are making ton of money for that brain trust.
When you collect next paycheck, be reminded that you make a fool of whole franchise and D’Backs fans all around.
Great job.
You sound not very knowledgeable about the Dbacks situation at all!
Dbacks are a small/mid market team… Goldy was going to test free agency and wasn’t going to make any team friendly deals like he has done in the past.. and the Dbacks budget is to the max!
So in retrospect they insured they got a return for him instead of losing him to free agency.
Sounds like you really did your research…. good job!
Yeah, small market team , ok. Yet, they have a pitcher with largest salary in the whole MLB, but can’t extend their own franchise player, and maybe best 1B in the league with 26 mill per year.
Gimme a break.
Nevertheless , great move by Cards , this organization always are making damn good moves.
Again… Nice research there…you are soooo smart! Yeah they have a pitcher named Greinke who is the highest paid pitcher… that was a bonehead move made by the last regime (Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart)… they only lasted two years as President and GM due to making the WORST moves in the history of baseball!
The current GM, Mike Hazen… inherited a mess from MR. La Russa! La Russa and Dave Stewart traded away 2 first round draft picks, depleted the farm system, signed Grienke to an insane contract, and signed an unproven Cuban star whose getting 32 million the next 2 years….
If the Dbacks didn’t waste a large portion of their salary on players like Greinke and Yasmany Tomas…. then the Dbacks ‘possibly’ had a chance to resign Goldie…. also did you know the Dbacks had their highest salary ever in the history of the team last year? You really think they are going to add 25 million on top of that? That’s cool you are more aware of the Dbacks financial constraints more than they are! Wow… nice research! Peace!
Revisionist thinking. The talk in AZ the last 1-2 years was that there was zero chance the Dbacks were going to get a second hometown discount and they couldn’t afford a ‘full retail cost’ of Goldy (mainly because of mistakes of past regimes) No one foresaw this extension-mania. Hindsight and all.
As a Dbacks fan this stings…. but don’t worry Dbacks!!! We still got Yasmany Tomas whose getting paid $16 million this year and next and likely won’t make the 40 man roster!
If Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart didn’t make bonehead free agent moves and deplete the farm system by trading first round draft picks… who knows… maybe just maybe Goldy would have still be a Dback.
Boy…. you’re right!! Dave Stewart was a disaster for the D’backs!!! And he was Strictly a LaRussa man too!!
Sounds like a good deal for both sides!! However, to be Not just second wild card contenders, they still need a .300 hitter in front of Goldy. He should be batting third, but besides Carpenter, there is no one who can consistently get on base.
Here comes Debbie Downer Cardinals17…what’s the matter can’t give The front office credit for this one
Stop quoting batting average as an important stat by itself. Stop. It treats all hits the same and is ignorant of Walks and Strikeouts. Batting average is for awards, not value.
What they need is a .375 OBP guy in front of him. That will score runs. There are a lot of .300 hitters with .310 OBP. Those guys we do not need in front of Goldy.
Finally, Bunselpower! A voice of reason. For years people have been throwing around batting average as the measure of a player’s value, which is a complete distortion of the facts. I know of many players who hit in the .280s or .290s and barely break .300 in OBP. Some fantasy magazines list the numbers in a row; many time OBP isn’t there, but BA is always there. OBP is the most important number in the line, and yet people choose to focus on flash rather than actual production. I can’t believe there are MLB players who are getting paid millions of dollars a year, and yet they’ve never outgrown or were properly trained to resist the little league impulse of hacking at every pitch that the pitcher throws. MLB needs GMs like you, who realize how runs are actually scored in baseball.
This guy is a perfect “Cardinal” type player. Comes to work and just gets it done. His character far outweighs his talent and he’s an elite first baseman.
One thing I haven’t seen in these comments is if the NL gets forced into the DH then this really is a good deal as he can be rested and still keep the bat in the lineup. I don’t see that happening much due to his defensive skills over other players available for the cardinals and the presence of Martinez on the 40 man, but the Cardinals and Cubs would be in a good spot for adding the DH. I think it gives the more elite teams in the NL a big edge over the rest of the league due to depth of bench. For whatever reason those teams seem to carry a bunch of influence with the league. I see the players union pushing for it hard as well due to the lack of free agent signings on the older players that still carry a strong bat.
I would guess that the knowledge that the DH is coming is a big reason why the Cards were ok signing a guy into his late 30s. I don’t want the DH, but you are spot on, the Cards will be one of the teams that benefit the most from its implementation
I don’t want it either, but it will ease the burden on some of these teams in the NL that just dropped big bucks on longggg term contracts for position players. I see no way the players union signs off on the next contract without it. The commish is pushing for it as well. It will be strange watching baseball with more than a handful of games played with it as a cardinals fan.
It took us 8 years but we finally replaced Pujols.
Honorable mention to Allen Craig (split 1B and corner OF)
Did you really add an update to this just to tell us that $130 divided by 5 = 26?
Well it explains whether or not it was a front loaded contract or back loaded…so there is that
So this says he can get 1.5 million for NL MVP. Hypothetically speaking, if he was traded to AL somehow and won AL mvp, would he miss out on it. Wonder if the contract actually says nl