Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Have Questions After Fan-Favorite's Red-Hot Yankees Start

Did the Cardinals make the right call?
Patrick McAvoy|
Jul 12, 2020; Bronx, New York, United States; A view of the New York Yankees logo and seat number of an empty seat during a simulated game during summer camp workouts at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Jul 12, 2020; Bronx, New York, United States; A view of the New York Yankees logo and seat number of an empty seat during a simulated game during summer camp workouts at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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St. Louis CardinalsNew York Yankees

Did the St. Louis Cardinals make the right call this past offseason opting to let Paul Goldschmidt walk in free agency?

Goldschmidt spent the last six seasons with St. Louis and was great. He was named the 2022 National League Most Valuable Player and was a true star for the Cardinals. Goldschmidt only made on All-Star team in his six years in St. Louis, but he was every bit what the team could've hoped for.

While this is the case, he's not 37 years old and didn't have the season he wanted to have last year. He finished the campaign slashing .245/.302/.414 with 22 home runs and 65 RBIs in 154 games. In comparison to most other first basemen out there, this was a solid campaign, but not up to his usual standards. The Cardinals wanted to get cheaper and opted to not bring him back and instead move Willson Contreras to first base opening the door for Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés.

It's early in the season and numbers fluctuate each day. It's easy to look at Goldschmidt's numbers with the New York Yankees and wonder if the Cardinals made the right call. So far this season he is slashing .324/.395/.471 with one home run and three RBIs in nine games played. Those are great numbers.

With Contreras struggling and Herrera getting hurt on Sunday it's easy to think the Cardinals made the wrong call, but that shouldn't really be the case. Herrera has been red-hot to kick off the season and has been the best hitter of the group including him, Contreras, Goldschmidt, and Pagés. Contreras is too good of a player for his struggles to continue for long and Pagés has been very solid himself offensively.

The season is still young. Even if Goldschmidt keeps up this play for the entire season, Contreras will get right and the catcher position also is providing some serious offense. St. Louis wanted to go younger and opening the door for Herrera to have consistent playing time is a good decision in itself. He's hurt right now, but hopefully he won't be out for long.

It's easy to get lost in the numbers early, but the Cardinals did make the right call.

More MLB: Cardinals 'Hopeful' Slugger Avoided Devastating Injury

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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