What's next for the St. Louis Cardinals?
St. Louis entered the offseason with plenty of holes on the roster after winning just 71 games in 2023. The Cardinals have done a good job of addressing the roster needs and added three starting pitchers and multiple relievers.
While the Cardinals may end up adding another reliever, they likely are done making other big moves. The biggest question remaining for St. Louis now is the future of superstar first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
The 36-year-old will be a free agent at the end of the 2024 season. There have been rumblings that a contract extension could be on the way and both sides have shown interest in a deal. Although this is the case, it sounds like St. Louis won't get a deal done at least until the 2024 season actually begins, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold.
"Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Saturday during Winter Warm-up that the Cardinals may wait and see how the year progresses before exploring a contract extension with Paul Goldschmidt, who is entering the final year of his current contract," Goold said. "'I think right now, I think everybody just wants to see how this season starts,' Mozeliak said when asked if extending the club’s starting first baseman will be a priority.
“'You know, obviously, want to get off on the right track and then we can address things like that.' Following a 2022 season that resulted in Goldschmidt claiming National League MVP honors, the 36-year-old slashed .268/.363/.447 with 25 homers and 80 RBIs."
This isn't too surprising and doesn't mean a deal won't get done, but it sounds like it won't happen during the offseason. If St. Louis starts strong and Goldschmidt returns to form, it wouldn't be too surprising to see a deal get done quickly.
If Goldschmidt struggles and St. Louis remains one of the worst teams in the National League Central, maybe a trade could be on the horizon.
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