SAN FRANCISCO — The St. Louis Cardinals are expected to part ways with seven-time All-Star Paul Goldschmidt at the end of the season, multiple league sources tell The Athletic.
Goldschmidt, a seven-time All-Star and 2022 National League MVP, has spent the past six seasons with St. Louis. His five-year, $130 million contract is set to expire at the end of the season. With the Cardinals planning to transition to a reset in 2025, the organization decided to move on from one of their franchise faces.
Goldschmidt, 37, struggled this season. Entering play ahead of Sunday’s season finale, Goldschmidt’s .245 average, .412 slugging percentage and .713 OPS are the lowest marks of his Cardinals tenure.
He lamented his performance last week.
“This is probably the worst I’ve performed on the field in my career,” Goldschmidt said. “That was disappointing, a good bit of that burden was on me. If I could’ve played how I believe I’m capable of playing, we could’ve won more games and maybe this might have turned out differently.”
Still, Goldschmidt’s pedigree as one of baseball’s most respected veterans should help him on the market. New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso will headline this year’s first-base class, with Josh Bell and Christian Walker, Goldschmidt’s successor in Arizona, also set for free agency. New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo has a $17 million club option next year; if the Yankees do not exercise that option, Rizzo will also be a free agent.
Goldschmidt’s exit is expected to be the first of many decisions the Cardinals will make this offseason. St. Louis is pivoting its focus to upgrading its player development model, a process that could take at least two years. Per a league source, they will unlikely retain any of their impending free agents, including relievers Andrew Kittredge and Keynan Middleton. Whether that will impact starting pitchers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, who have club options for 2025, remains to be seen.
One source indicated a reduction in major-league payroll could be coming, with the club planning extensive upgrades to their minor-league system. This could put multiple players’ futures into question. Nolan Arenado has three years remaining on his eight-year, $260 million deal. Sonny Gray’s three-year, $75 million contract is backloaded; he made just $10 million this season. Willson Contreras is still owed $54.5 million through 2027. Ryan Helsley should see a major increase from his $3.8 million 2024 salary as he enters his final year of arbitration.
The Cardinals are expected to hold a press conference addressing their future on Monday. The decision to move on from Goldschmidt, however, is a clear indication that major changes are on the docket.
(Photo of Paul Goldschmidt from Sept. 4: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
