Could Goldschmidt Finally Earn That Elusive NL MVP as a Cardinal?

On Wednesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks traded Paul Goldschmidt, arguably the greatest player in that franchise's two decade history, to the St. Louis Cardinals for starting pitcher Luke Weaver, catcher Carson Kelly and minor league infielder Andy Young along with a future draft pick.

Drafted by the D'Backs in 2009, Goldschmidt reached the majors in 2011 and quickly became a fixture in Phoenix. Goldschmidt finished runner up in NL MVP balloting 2013 and 2015 along with a third place finish in 2017. In 2018, Goldschmidt hit .290 with 33 HR and 83 RBI which was good enough for a sixth place in NL MVP balloting. The 31-year old first baseman has been named to six consecutive NL All-Star Teams. He enters the 2019 season with a .297 lifetime batting average, a lifetime OBP of .398 along with 209 HR and 710 RBI.

Goldschmidt could be the key in getting the Cardinals back into the post-season having missed it for the past three seasons. Matt Carpenter, Marcell Ozuna, Yadier Molina and a healthy Paul de Jong are good, but Goldschmidt will be the guy teams in the NL Central will pitch around him and for good reason.  In 43 career games against the Chicago Cubs, Goldschmidt has hit .353 with 14 HR and 39 RBI while hitting .366 with 10 HR and 32 RBI in 46 career games against the Milwaukee Brewers. Against the Cincinnati Reds, while his average falls to .272 Goldschmidt has 11 HR and 26 RBI in 42 career games. Goldschmidt has similar numbers against the Pittsburgh Pirates (.270 BA, 8 HR & 25 RBI). I don't know if the Cardinals will win the 2019 World Series, but if he continues to hit like this against the NL Central in 2019 then I believe he will finally win the NL MVP.

It is worth noting that Goldschmidt will become a free agent after the 2019 season. But the Cardinals do inspire their players to remain as Molina and Carpenter can attest. If Goldschmidt does win a NL MVP with the Cardinals then the team will try to make as much a part of the St. Louis landscape as the Gateway Arch. Come to think of it they could rename it the Goldschmidt Arch.

As for the D'Backs, Goldschmidt's departure comes 24 hours after Patrick Corbin signed a free agent contract with the Washington Nationals. After winning the NL Wild Card in 2017, it appears the D'Backs are in rebuild mode. How much Weaver, Kelly and Young will contribute to their rebuilding is anyone's guess. The same cannot be said for when Goldschmidt dons a Cardinals uniform.