Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals' Necessary Offseason Move Aging Like Milk As Veteran Returns To True Form

The former St. Louis fan favorite is off to a hot start at the plate in 2025
Nate Hagerty|
Sep 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the hat and glove of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (not pictured) before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Sep 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the hat and glove of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (not pictured) before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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St. Louis CardinalsNew York Yankees

St. Louis Cardinals fans are consistently reminded that their beloved team's front office has made several costly decisions over the past decade.

For instance, former homegrown hurlers Zac Gallen and 2022 National League Cy Young recipient Sandy Alcantara were traded in Dec. 2017 for three-time All-Star Marcell Ozuna, who spent just two seasons playing for St. Louis.

Despite signing one free agent, right-handed pitcher Phil Maton and neglecting to move several viable trade chips over the offseason, a move made by the Cardinals' front office this past winter is aging like sour milk.

New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who St. Louis neglected to re-sign this past offseason after logging the worst offensive campaign of his career last year with the Cardinals, is batting .383 with 18 hits including one home run, three RBIs and a .942 OPS in 47 at-bats across 12 games played for the Bronx Bombers in 2025.

The seven-time All-Star currently has the third-most hits (18) by any big-league slugger this season -- tied with Cardinals Gold Glove defender Brendan Donovan, Houston Astros two-time World Series champion and NL Central rival Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki.

The 37-year-old batted a career-worst .245 with 56 extra-base hits including 22 home runs, 65 RBIs and a .716 OPS in 154 games played for St. Louis last year.

Re-signing the aging veteran over the offseason wasn't an option for the Cardinals, who were supposed to dedicate the winter to shedding payroll and rebuilding the broken organization. Shockingly, St. Louis' front office remained stagnant and did little to invest in the franchise's future.

Still, the Cardinals needed to clear roster room for youngsters Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés to battle for who'll become the franchise's future catcher -- moving three-time All-Star Willson Contreras to first base and moving on from Goldschmidt became necessary.

It's too early to say that Goldschmidt has returned to his 2022 NL MVP form but his recent offensive hot streak makes one wonder how well he would've performed this year if the Cardinals re-signed him for a seventh season in St. Louis.

More MLB: Astros Linked To Pair Of Ex-Cardinals Homegrown Stars Amid Rotation Health Crisis

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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