Paul Goldschmidt was traded to the St Louis Cardinals for Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, Andy Young and a Compensation Round B selection in the 2019 MLB Draft on Wednesday.
The Arizona Diamondbacks saw A.J. Pollock and Patrick Corbin become free agents this offseason, which led to suggestions of a rebuild at Chase Field. The decision to trade the face of the franchise shows the Phoenix-based club are ready to restock their farm.
Weaver and Kelly are buy-low guys. Weaver was very good in 2017 and regressed in 2018. Kelly has been blocked by the evergreen Yadier Molina, but he’s a high-on-base catcher who can be elite defensively. Young is a versatile infielder who has pop. It looks a pretty much fair haul for Goldschmidt, who is a free agent at the end of next season.
The pick that comes between rounds two and three in next year’s draft is a handy asset for Arizona. As Bob Nightengale reported, the Dbacks now have the seven of the top 70 picks in the 2019 draft after this deal and the compensation from Corbin’s big deal with the Nationals.
The Cardinals were already seen as big players this offseason. The deal for Marcell Ozuna last offseason, breakout of Harrison Bader and Matt Carpenter’s strong 2018 mean St Louis are well on the way to a contending roster. They managed to keep hold of the future of the rotation, Alex Reyes and Jack Flaherty, in the deal. Acquiring Goldschmidt – arguably the game’s best first baseman – gives St Louis a line-up as good as any in the National League.
This trade is a major move and St Louis are still definite contenders for some of the star free agents, such as Bryce Harper and Michael Brantley. It is probably just the start of an offseason that could take the Cardinals from a borderline wildcard team to one of the best in the National League.
Adding a proven talent like Goldschmidt cannot be downplayed. Moving Carpenter to third and adding the Gold Glove of Goldschmidt improves St Louis immensely on both sides of the ball. It works for Arizona too, though. They have pieces that can help their next competitive team and avoided losing their biggest star for nothing next offseason.
St Louis’ fans will take no convincing that this is a good move. The Diamondbacks faithful will be harder to get on side, but this is a pragmatic move from Arizona after missing out on the playoffs last season.