Cardinals acquire Paul Goldschmidt

The St. Louis Cardinals have their big bat.

The club confirmed earlier this hour that the Diamondbacks agreed to a trade sending first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis. In return, Arizona will receive Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver, infield prospect Andy Young, and the Cardinals’ Compensation Round B selection in the 2019 MLB Draft.

Goldschmidt slashed .290/.389/.533 in 2018 en route to a 145 wRC+ mark that led all MLB first basemen. Since 2013, his 32.9 fWAR is tops at first base and trails only Mike Trout and Josh Donaldson among all position players. No information regarding a potential contract extension has been made public, which would result in Goldschmidt testing free agency next winter after earning $14.5 million in 2019.

With Yadier Molina already at the major league level and Andrew Knizner soaring through the minor leagues as well, the Cardinals opted to move 24-year-old Carson Kelly as the headline piece off to Arizona. Also included in the outgoing package is Luke Weaver, who took a step back in 2018 with a 4.95/4.45/4.46 ERA/FIP/xFIP after posting 3.88/3.17/2.93 figures the previous season. Meanwhile, Andy Young checks in at 12th on FanGraphs’ list of the top prospects within the Cardinals organization, although he was not ranked inside MLB Pipeline’s top 30.

Competitive Balance Round B occurs immediately after Round 2 of the June First Year Player Draft. This year, those picks were 69 through 74, although the exact numbers vary slightly each draft depending on how the preceding free agency period transpires.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the industry consensus on this deal is favorable for the Cardinals.

With the Winter Meetings slated to begin this Sunday, December 9, it remains to be seen how this trade will impact the Cardinals’ pursuit of other high-profile free agents, namely, Bryce Harper.

Be sure to stay tuned here at Viva El Birdos, where we will have further coverage of this blockbuster deal as we learn more.