Cubs Rumors: Are the St. Louis Cardinals in on Paul Goldschmidt?

Cubs Rumors: Is it realistic?

Although Rosenthal said the Cardinals have “kicked around” the idea of getting Goldschmidt and Greinke, he also addressed the potential hindrances to acquiring both. First, St. Louis is on Greinke’s no-trade list, which would make it more difficult to deal him there. Also, the Diamondbacks might not be willing to deal the two for anything but a large haul of top prospects.

Still, St. Louis has a good farm system, with plenty of prospects that could get the trade done. It’s just a matter of whether they’ll do it. Presumably, it’d be worth it for these two. So if the Cardinals wanted to get the trade done, there’s little reason to doubt they’d have the resources, money and motivation to do so.

NL Central impact

Goldschmidt alone would make colossal contributions to any team. He was worth over 5.0 wins above replacement the last two seasons and has been named an All-Star in each of the past six seasons. He finished as high as second in MVP voting twice, in 2013 and 2015. He has also proven to be a very durable player, playing in at least 155 games each of the past four seasons.

Greinke has pitched very well the past two seasons with the Diamondbacks. He’s been an All-Star in each of those campaigns and finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2017. With the Kansas City Royals in 2009, he won both the ERA title and the Cy Young Award. Greinke is on the older side at 35 years old, but if he’s healthy, there’s little reason to believe he couldn’t have another great season in 2019.

If Greinke joined the Cardinals’ pitching staff, it could launch their rotation past that of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs’ rotation would still look better on paper, assuming everyone is healthy.

All things considered, Goldschmidt might make the bigger impact of the two. He could easily be considered one of the top 15 players in MLB and is probably still in the prime of his career at 31. The Cardinals’ offense could take a big jump with Goldschmidt on its side.