The moment Paul Goldschmidt was acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals a few months ago, a courtship unfolded.
The press conference that finished with the former Arizona Diamondback posing with a bunch of kids who were visiting the stadium that morning. The Winter Warm-Up presentation, which included a dinner out with manager Mike Shildt and the adoring welcome of Cardinal Nation. The spring training arrival that saw every teammate flock to his side, learn from him, and accept him as one of the family. All of it was designed to make the big guy feel at home in less than one offseason.
The minute Goldschmidt got here, the Cardinals weren't going to let him go.
Whether you agree with it or not, they stopped looking at other players. In the 31-year-old soft-spoken slugger, they had found their cornerstone talent. A middle of the lineup thumper who could also provide Gold Glove worthy defense. A hitter who could steal a base if he didn't take all four with one swing of the bat. As Donnie Brasco would say, fuggadaboutit!
When I was asked a few weeks ago if Goldschmidt would re-sign with the Cards, I said yes, and told the Twitter follower that it would happen before July. You'd have to be blind to not see the budding relationship between player and team.
Employer and employee were also recognizing the changing landscape of the Major League Baseball free agent game. With the field of play shifting towards the owners not wanting to hand out ridiculous contracts to baseball players so frequently, there was an urgency to get an extension done.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, talks between the Cards and Goldschmidt heated up today, with the terms reaching at least five years and at least $110 million in value.
It's a fitting marriage between talent and need.
Desired placement. Goldschmidt was an elite player with no real shot at winning in Arizona for the first eight years of his career. We are talking about a guy who played in at least 145 games in six of the past seven seasons, accumulating an average WAR of 5.2. Over the past six seasons, Goldschmidt has reached 8 wins above replacement and 7 wins above replacement. He's averaged 31 home runs, 105 runs batted in, 18 stolen bases, and a .930 OPS.
Goldschmidt could sneeze and put up a .500 slugging percentage. That's true pop, the kind that the Cardinals haven't had in the middle of the order since their last mainstay at first base, Jose Alberto Pujols.
Goldschmidt finished second in MVP voting twice, owns four Gold Gloves, and four Silver Slugger awards. If he had some protection out there in Arizona or if the team managed to do anything in the postseason, he may own two MVP awards right now.
In an instant, the National League Division got a new look from 2020-2025.
The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers are no longer the big dogs in town, or the teams with a legit stud. The Cardinals have a perennial thumper in their lineup. A hitter who destroys the Cubs and Brewers in their own parks, putting up numbers that opposing managers sweat in their sleep over. I guarantee you at this very moment, Theo Epstein is pouring a stiff drink. He still has to sign Kris Bryant to a long term deal, that is if the guy doesn't find a pen and paper to be too boring.
Like the Joker told Batman, Goldschmidt changes things. There is no going back.
I could list out five reasons why this deal is golden, or I could just tell you flat out that this is a steal for the Cardinals. For an average annual value of $26 million, they are getting a legit producer who gives you a face for your franchise, will eclipse Yadier Molina in jersey sales by next year, and give you an easy five wins per season.
Is it also great for Goldschmidt? You bet.
He's turning 32 in September, and a guy named Josh Donaldson just signed a one year deal to rehab his career in Atlanta after winning an MVP a few seasons ago. Things can change fast in this game, so why not protect yourself? Long term deals for 30+ talents don't grow on trees anymore in baseball, so Goldschmidt is seeing the forest through the trees by inking this deal without taking an official regular season at-bat as a Cardinal.
He knows what it's like out there, and isn't wasting any time worrying about it all summer long.
From the minute Goldschmidt arrived, the courting started, and it worked like a charm. After searching for the big bat with a high dollar, the Cardinals found their guy.
Jason Heyward signed larger contract (albeit he was much younger) with the Cubs instead of the Cardinals. Giancarlo Stanton turned down the Cardinals offer. Bryant called St. Louis boring. Trust me, pal, Busch Stadium will be far from boring on April 4. You'll see in May.
When the Cardinals traded for Goldschmidt, the consensus was that if the team could extend him, the deal was a huge win. Well, guess what ... the Cardinals got the job done before the end of March
I put this late offseason signing a fair distance above the Greg Holland deal last spring.
Forget the soft March bats of the Cardinals. It's meaningless exhibitions. Practice. As spring training turned the corner for its descent towards home plate, the Cardinals made Goldschmidt an offer he couldn't refuse. In the process, they gave their franchise a new look for the next six seasons.
Is it a good deal? No. It's a great deal.
At long last, the Cardinals have locked in their stud.
