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

2) It's unlikely the LA Angels acquire Paul Goldschmidt because they don't have much that the Cardinals would want

When talking about a trade, you need to think about not only your needs, but the needs of the team you're trading with. While the Cardinals are one of the worst teams in baseball, their offense is certainly not the reason why.

Even with the Cardinals underperforming a bit offensively, they rank 12th in runs scored. That's above league average, and that's with Goldschmidt taking a slight step back and other established veterans like Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras having massive down years. The reason St. Louis has been so awful is their pitching.

While they've picked it up a bit lately, their 4.69 rotation ERA ranks 22nd in the majors (slightly better than the Angels who are 23rd). Adam Wainwright is in the final year of his career, and it's showing with his 5.79 ERA through seven starts. Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty, the two best pitchers on the team this season, are both free agents after the season.

That leaves just Miles Mikolas who has taken a step back from his all-star campaign in 2022, and Matthew Liberatore who has made 11 MLB starts to lead their rotation in 2024 from their current rotation. That is obviously not good enough.

The Cardinals would target pitching in a Goldschmidt trade, and the Angels don't really have pitching in the upper minors to offer. While guys like Patrick Sandoval and Reid Detmers could be enticing, it's not like the Angels can really afford to move them with Ohtani hitting free agency and the Angels lacking quality rotation depth.

The young arms the Angels have like Chase Silseth and Sam Bachman for example have looked much better in reliever roles than as starters. While relievers can be valuable, they won't get you the reigning MVP.

If the Cardinals do decide to trade Goldschmidt, it feels very likely that they'd look for pitching. A package highlighted by the likes of Sam Bachman, Chase Silseth, and Ky Bush just doesn't feel like it'd work. They won't have interest in players like Jo Adell who could potentially help move the needle in a different trade.