3 reasons why it's very unlikely the Angels acquire reigning MVP Paul Goldschmidt

The St. Louis Cardinals are a mess. The Los Angeles Angels saw this firsthand when they came to St. Louis in early May and swept them. The Halos enjoyed three relatively stress-free wins at Busch Stadium against a Cardinals team many expected to be the NL Central victors.

At 27-42, the Cardinals have the worst record in the National League and are the third-worst team in all of baseball only better than the Athletics and Royals. This has many people wondering what St. Louis, a team seemingly always in a postseason race and with a boatload of talent on the MLB roster will do.

With the Cardinals having such a high hill to climb just to get close to a playoff spot, it's only fair to assume whether someone like reigning NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt will be available. Will Leitch of MLB.com asks this same question and lists the Angels as a potential suitor. If he is, the Angels should absolutely pursue him, but it feels awfully unlikely that things would work as we'd want them to. Here are three reasons why.

1) It's unlikely the LA Angels acquire Paul Goldschmidt because there's a good chance St. Louis won't even move him

This season certainly looks like a lost season for the Cardinals, but it might even be too early to pre-determine that. Despite being 15 games under .500, the Cardinals are only 8.5 games back of the first place Pirates. The NL Central is an awful division that can still be won by the team that I still believe is the most talented.

Even if the Cardinals do decide they can't win this season, that doesn't mean they have to sacrifice next season too. Goldschmidt has one more year on his contract so instead of trading him, they could easily just try again next season.

While St. Louis needs pitching, they can get that from trading one of their plenty of outfielders, and they can simply sign better arms. If that happens, it's hard to see the Cardinals failing to compete again.

I can see the arguments either way. Trading Goldschmidt now would get the Cardinals really good value for a superstar first baseman who also happens to be 35 years old. Keeping him gives you a chance not only this season but next. I'd be fairly surprised if St. Louis actually traded him.