In a recent chat with readers, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discussed the futures of a handful of pending free agents on the Cardinals roster. Most notable among them is seven-time All Star and 2022 NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt, who Goold noted the club would talk with after the season “about what a return looks like.” Goold went on to compare the situation with Goldschmidt to the one the club experienced with longtime Cardinal Adam Wainwright late in his career, when Goold notes the club allowed him to reach free agency before finalizing a previously agreed-upon deal.
That framing of the situation indicates that there’s a strong mutual interest in Goldschmidt’s stay in St. Louis extending beyond this season. The veteran first baseman, 37 next month, has spent the last six years with the Cardinals after arriving in St. Louis in a trade that brought his tenure with the Diamondbacks to an end one year before he would’ve otherwise been scheduled to reach free agency. While Goldschmidt’s thirties with the Cardinals haven’t been quite as productive as his twenties in Arizona, he’s still be among the games most reliable offensive talents with a .286/.373/.500 slash line (138 wRC+) with St. Louis entering the 2024 campaign.
Given his consistency at the plate and his still-recent MVP campaign in 2022, Goldschmidt entered the 2024 season looking as though he might be one of the offseason’s most attractive offensive talents despite his advanced age. A difficult 2024 campaign has changed that, however, as the veteran has hit just .228/.288/.384 (91 wRC+) in 110 games this season. Age-related decline becomes a concern for most any player as their career advances into their mid-to-late thirties, and for Goldschmidt to have the first below-average offensive season of his career at age 36 surely sets off alarm bells for some interested clubs.
Given Goldschmidt’s struggles this year, it’s easy to see how a reunion could make the most sense for all sides. After all, the Cardinals lack a clear heir to Goldschmidt at first base among their corps of young hitters, which is populated primarily by middle infield and outfield options. Luken Baker is the only first baseman on the 40-man roster controlled for the 2025 season, and the 27-year-old has yet to appear in the big leagues this year after a 33-game cup of coffee in 2023 where he struck out at a 31.3% clip and mustered a wRC+ of just 79. Retaining Goldschmidt would allow the club to keep a respected and decorated veteran who has had success in the recent past in the fold while they sort out long-term options at first base.
Meanwhile, a reunion would offer Goldschmidt a comfortable and familiar place to try and bounce back in 2025 with an organization that has stuck by him as their everyday first baseman even amid his hitting woes this season. It’s also worth noting that there’s some reason for optimism regarding Goldschmidt baked into his more recent performance this season. After an ice cold start to the season where he posted a paltry .530 OPS in 37 games, Goldschmidt has bounced back somewhat with a more respectable .247/.294/.446 in his last 316 trips to the plate. That figure is good for an above average wRC+ of 108.
Setting aside Goldschmidt, Goold goes on to suggest that there’s at least two other pending free agents the Cardinals could explore reunions with this winter: relievers Keynan Middleton and Andrew Kittredge. Of the two, Goold seems to imply that a reunion with Middleton is more likely, adding that there’s “mutual interest” in working out a deal with the 30-year-old who has missed the entire 2024 campaign due to season-ending flexor tendon surgery.
The Cardinals hold a $6MM club option with a $1MM buyout on Middleton’s services for the 2025 campaign, but after the righty missed his first year with the club it wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise to see St. Louis brass decline that option in hopes of re-signing Middleton to a smaller guarantee. The righty posted a 3.38 ERA in 51 games with the White Sox and Yankees last year and was particularly impressive during his time in the Bronx, when he pitched to a 1.88 ERA and struck out 30.4% of opponents. As for Kittredge, the 34-year-old righty has performed solidly in his first season with the club with a 3.12 ERA with a 4.19 FIP in 49 innings of work and will likely be eyeing a raise over the $2.263MM salary he’s earned in his final trip through arbitration this year.
Poverty franchise if so
Cards talking our of their —
Alec Burleson has played some 1B the last couple of seasons and could take over for Goldschmidt in 2025.
Yea I didn’t get it when it said “lack a clear heir” Burlson is obviously the clear heir…lack of cardinals knowledge
Even though Jordan walker hasn’t played first a ton, wouldn’t you rather have walker on first rather than in the outfield, his defense was horrible!
Walker/Burelson/ Gorman maybe …either way there is a clear Heir
Walker was awful at first the little he played.
Walker had never played OF before and apparently has greatly improved. Also he has a plus arm for right field.
Walker was awful in the OF to start and developed into decent. Maybe he could do the same at 1B.
Giving three options means there’s NOT a clear heir
What the author meant is that he thinks the cardinals don’t have anyone to replace Goldy…IMO and like I stated before I think Burleson is the clear heir…but even if not they have other options…meaning that yes the cardinals have clear heirs of players to replace Goldy…hope that helps you understand
Cards
Agree Burlson is the future
True, Luken Baker has been in waiting in Memphis for several years also. Burly can play other positions. Nothing matters without new management though. I thought they should have traded him to the Yankees or Mariners. This team isn’t going to the playoffs.
Gbs
Yes. Burleson at 1B against RHP or full time.
If Goldie want to sign one year at ten million to short side platoon guess that would be the max.
Manny, I’d offer him $5M…
With Walker, Gorman, and Goldy not hitting, there is no clear option at 1st. Could move Burly there, but that leaves a hole in your outfield, which already lacks depth. Pham looks great, but will probably want a two-year deal and is an aging, streaky player with a serious eye disorder which could become an issue again at any moment, so that should give anyone pause.
Victor Scott II looks great in the small sample and Siani profiles as a 4th outfielder, but it’s pretty risky to think of either of them as solid pieces.
This team has a lot of holes to fill.
$5m to Goldy on a one year deal is fair and he may take that, but he can’t seem to catch up to fastballs and can’t lay off off-speed pitching because it looks like he’s trying to make up for declining bat speed.
With the team strapped for young, cost-controlled talent, it’s gonna be a brutal offseason.
Haven’t even mentioned the fact we have an older pitching rotation with serviceable guys, but they’re rentals…do the Cards want to re-rent older players? We don’t have enough young talent to fill the gaps, as things currently stand.
It’s a problem.
I wouldn’t be surprised if one random team (like the astros mariners or pirates) is desperate enough to overpay enough to get him out of St. Louis
Unlikely, goldy likes the place and wouldn’t want to displace his family, but all it takes is either a one year $15 million contract or a 2-3 year deal
Tormented
I don’t see the Pirates doing that.
I can’t product the future but conventional wisdom would leads me to believe Goldy has seen his best years. I’d like him to play out the season and see where he sits but this cannot be a blockbuster type deal he earned the first he’s unlikely to earn the second one. I’m not saying there would be no drop of from Goldy defensively plugging in just anyone but first base is definitely a position you put someone who either your trying to keep healthy or just can’t play another position affectively. It’s the least valued position on defense so I’m not at all worried about filling his defensive shoes at all. Cardinals lack in pitching but they have loads of young controllable very productive young players with control. Any number of them could fill first with a slight drop off in defense. I love Goldy I really do which is why I hope they can work out one more year and squeeze out what he’s got left but again I’m not overpaying him because of the player he was at his age the way this seasons production is going. Arenado can have an off year and I’m less concerned. Because of age difference and the fact he’s a stud at the hot corner. Goldy plays a premium bat first position. Age and recent production are huge factors as much as I like and respect him. If he’s reasonable he plays out his career with the Cardinals if he wants another million or two after what he’s made then I’m ok with him walking won’t hate either. This is baseball the last idk how many years. Teams pay for how they project you’ll perform not for an MVP type season a year removed at advanced baseball age. Your catcher the most premium defensive position is a better middle order bat. Either way they need one more pitcher after the White Sox trade and some bullpen help. They need salary relief from Goldy hopefully in the way of a sizable reduction in salary but if it must be letting him sign elsewhere. His position on the field should play little to no value they have guys who could easily take the at bats
Seth
That was a long post for zero paragraph indents. 🙂
Do the Rich Hill route. Don’t sign him until June and hope you miss the inevitable early season slump
The “Rich Hill Route” hasn’t really happened yet, and doesn’t look like it will (even if he signed now, there’s no way he ramps up in time to be eligible for the playoffs). He’s done.
I think gold is still warming up at this point in the season
Stop the nostalgia train!!!!! Pleading broke and unable to get pitching yet you want to retain a guy that is done. Young guys, inexpensive guys. Not over-priced veterans.
Of course they would. I mean why try and win? But meh, it doesn’t matter. 2025 will be rough to. The focus should be on a team ready to start ascending 2026.
Then they needed to sell at the deadline.
Goldschmidt needs to take a very steep pay cut. Let him walk if he doesn’t agree. I think Burleson can easily step in at first.
Cards
Agree
Might as well sign Jose Abreu as his back up too
Back up? He’s starting DH for you next year.
Give Mo a situation. He’ll find a way to screw it up. And Derrick Goold will be right by his side telling everyone the pure genius of everything Mo says and does. 2026 just can’t get here soon enough.
Why is everyone writing off 2025 already? Your team is still in it for 2024 !!!
I mention 2026 because Mo’s contract expires after ’25.
The Cardinals have a -44 run differential in ’24. Their winning record is the product of an unsustainable record in one run games. We are basically the ’23 Marlins.
However, as long as the Cardinals finish above .500, Mo will be perfectly content to try it again next year with basically the exact same roster. Want to know how that is likely to turn out? Check out the ’24 Marlins.
So I repeat, 2026 can’t get here soon enough.
Mo did great at the trade deadline.
Should be easy enough to do. Burlesonand Baker platoon works for me.
Four
Burleson has proved himself
On a one or two year deal why not? With the DH in the NL they could still get a younger option at 1B.
Because they will play him every day, no matter what. The Cardinals are not interested in winning.
Burleson has proven himself and Contreras is a better DH than Goldie
Honestly, I don’t hate it as long as he’s taking a major pay cut, but I think its worth putting Burleson at first. He’s looked okay when he’s played there this season, so I don’t think getting full time work there would be bad. Need new coaching staff though.
Why? Guy’s old and washed up.
The problem is that there is 1, almost 2 SPs, in the rotation that are older. And both were acquired in the offseason as free agents. I mean, we all love senior dogs, but they ain’t winning any dog shows for ya.
Pitching has done exactly what we needed them to do this year. They aren’t the problem.
Goldy needs to try a smaller bat, the man is trying to swing the entire tree!
Why? They’d be better off moving Gorman to 1B and Donovan to 2B. Then, they could use the money they save from Goldschmidt coming off the books to address the OF and the pitching.
I’m huge Goldy fan. High quality guy. Works hard at his craft and to stay in shape. But time has come to move on. Cards are getting old. Gotta get younger and better. Goldy hopefully wears a red blazer someday
I’m of two minds on the matter. When you look at who will be available in free agency, the fall off after Alonso and Walker puts Goldscmidt in that category.
My first thought is that St Louis isn’t going to go into a free agent bidding war for either Alonso or Walker. This brings them back around to the devil they know.
My second thought is that some positional reconfiguration is coming this off-season. With Contreras, Herrera, and Pages at Catcher Arenado, Winn, at third and short, and Donovan likely returning to second, a Goldscmidt/Gorman platoon at first could happen. Given Goldscmidt can’t hit righties and Gorman can’t hit lefties.
However, Burleson has a decent amount of experience at first and St Louis could move on from both Goldy and Gorman. With Pham coming back in the outfield fold, it becomes more plausible with a combination of Nootbaar, Siani, and an emerging talent like Scott III or a bounce back from Walker.
Honestly I’d like to see that money go to getting another solid starter to add with Gray, Mikolas, Fedde, and Pallante. (If they don’t pick up Lynn or Gibson options)
Logically, he’s a platoon player next year, but how many clubs carry platoon first baseman? It seems to limit flexibility, whereas outfielders are generally accepted. They could try it, but it’s like carrying multiple DH’s on your roster. We saw it with Brandon Belt last year, but then no one signed him again.
If there is room for Matt Carpenter on the roster there is certainly room for Goldschmidt. The real question is for how much. 6 or 7 million sure why not. Bit 15 million? Heck no.
But you know he won’t accept or be asked to accept a Matt Carpenter role. If he is making over 5 million, he’s going to start. EVERY DAY. If you don’t believe me, check out today’s lineup. And tomorrow’s lineup. And yesterday’s lineup. Etc, etc, etc.
Burleson is a clearly better option, but that won’t matter to Mo.
He didn’t play today. I think there is a decent chance he can outplay Burleson in 2025. But there is room for both. The way I see it the team will go with 11 guys for 9 spots and give guys like Siani, Goldschmidt, Gorman, Burleson and Pham a lot of days off. Backup shortstop and Backup catcher won’t need a lot of playing time assuming Herrera gets dealt. There is room for Goldschmidt it just needs to be at a decent price.
Burleson has been our best hitter over the course of this season. Why would you expect Goldy to outplay him? And why would you give him lots of days off next season? Burly will be 26 next season. Goldy will be 37. Your projections are based on hope instead of science.
I didn’t say I expect it just wouldn’t surprise me. And Goldschmidt is a better defender at 1b. Burleson has a 523 career OPS against lefties. Him, Gorman and Siani should probably be sitting every time a lefty is on the mound.
I wouldn’t say having Matt Carpenter on your roster, at this point in his career, is the best use of a roster spot, honestly.
I don’t think anyone said that.
Mo & DeWitt never saw a poorly timed loyalty extension they did not like. Goldy has become Oldy. He had his time here but the shine has worn off. Team will never win until Oldschmidt and/or Arenadold are out of here. The cliff has been steep for those two this year. Pass the torch at 1b to Burleson, Baker, Gorman or even Walker. Arenado may be playing injured, maybe he recovers but he will likely be here til his contract ends. Would be smart to let Goldy go.
Have you ever met a cliche you didn’t love? Lol
Arenado has been good here. He started down this season but his numbers aren’t bad outside of his lower HR totals. Agree he may be hurt though
The choice of language from Mozeliak is interesting as well. He said he would like to see “What a return would look like.” We know Mozeliak says this when a player is getting older and their plans become more specific to a particular matter.
Usually at this stage where Paul’s at, players make decisions based more on interpersonal reasons as opposed to strictly financial gain.
The stage is set for Goldscmidt to possibly return to Arizona if Christian Walker walks, also, he lives year round in Palm Beach now. He could very well sign a deal with the Marlins and sleep in his own bed every night. Fred McGriff did the same thing when he signed with the Rays at the end of his career.
Goldschmidt fits on the team as long as it’s for a reasonable salary. Why they would want to extend him now while he’s in the middle of a terrible year I really don’t know.
I think they will bring back both Goldschmidt and Pham. They might bring back Crawford or sign someone of similar talent. They will also sign a right handed outfielder capable of playing center.
Not a chance Crawford returns. Goldy I could see. If he has a chance to make Cooperstown and make it wearing a StL hat, I can see them doing it. Bet he reaches FA first though and once there who knows. Maybe a team saves them from themselves. If he’s back it needs to be on a prove it deal. Carpenter hasn’t been bad but IDK if he’ll return. With his reasonable bounce back he may seem more playing time.
.297-209-710 in Arizona and .277-148-455 in Stl.
At this rate he would have to play another 4 years in Stl. to be “wearing a Stl. hat in Cooperstown”.
The team needs a backup shortstop. Whether Crawford returns or not makes very little difference. Carpenter is the one I don’t see any chance of coming back because the team doesn’t need a lefty bench bat with no defensive value.
they had a right handed hitting gold glove CF in TO and traded him for a bullpen pitcher
Hey at least Burleson is getting a shot. I give you credit he’s looking good.
Why not? We’ve already got Carpenter and Crawford taking up spots on the bench. Let’s pay Goldy another 20+ mil to continue his decline. Gonna have to start putting rocking chairs in the dugout. I don’t know wtf Mozeliak has been doing for the past five years. Other than fleecing the Rockies for Arenado and signing Sonny Gray, it seems like he’s actively trying to make the Cards draft 15th every year. Pick a lane, my dude. Also, there was no discernible reason to extend Oli Marmol. Not only does he seem to make poor decisions as manager, but he’s abrasive and combative with the media, not to mention how the whole Tyler O’Neil situation played out. I’ve never been more annoyed with the Cardinals.
As a Cubs fan, I hope they do, he’s burnt toast.
A cubs fan…LOL.
Aren’t the cubs always burnt toast?
Absolutely not. Goldy used to be a great player but he’s not worth bringing back. On top of that, he’s not a leader. He’s not a winning player. He brings no intangibles to this ball club.
Thank him for his time and let him go play somewhere else.
As a matter of fact, Nolan Arenado is the same type of player. Neither of these guys are malcontents, but they just don’t know how to win. I wouldn’t go as far as to call them “losers,” but they certainly aren’t leaders.
The Cardinals will never win by counting on Goldschmidt and Arenado. They both must go.
He has Jose Abreu written all over him…sometimes the end is a cliff.
Cards should put Burleson at first base and bring in Walker. Get rid of Goldy, Arenado, Gorman & Mikolas. Get some young HEALTHY talent
They should have traded Nado (can they?) and Goldy at the deadline. Gorman to 3rd, Burleson to first (and/or Walker) Saggese to 2nd and bring back Mike Schildt….
Why?
Goldy should cut and run from that place as fast as he can!!
I would like Goldy back on a team-friendly, incentive-laden deal. Lots of good teams are empty at 1B, and fellow Cards fans might miss him when he’s gone. He’s a good defender and can still hit mistakes.
That said, I like the internal options at 1B for 2025 better. Burleson taking more innings there and Baker coming up as the small side of the platoon sound good to try spring 2025–Baker is Memphis’s all-time leader in HR. Both are cheap and viable. Even though Gorman’s hitting poorly he’ll likely end 2024 with 25-30 HR–if he and Walker swing the bat decently they could get time at first. So could Contreras and Herrera (if he isn’t traded).
Baker at least should come up so he can build up more trade value.
I can see Goldy coming back for 2025. I think the Cards will do an Adam Wainwright type contract. A year to year type as long as Goldy decides to continue playing. A 1 year $10 million with incentives for getting to certain levels of his playing career.If Goldy decides that 2025 or whenever is his final yesr then we will have another farewell tour.
Re: Middleton. McCullers had flexor tendon surgery. That didn’t turn out too well.