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

By Zachary Rotman |
St. Louis Cardinals v Cincinnati Reds
St. Louis Cardinals v Cincinnati Reds / Jeff Dean/GettyImages
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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.

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.

3) It's unlikely the LA Angels acquire Paul Goldschmidt because Arte Moreno refuses to go over the luxury tax

It's insane that I even have to write this, but it's impossible to ignore. The Angels are 38-32 right now and find themselves just 1.5 games outside of a playoff spot. They have everything to play for this season.

Shohei Ohtani is hitting free agency this offseason, and if they fail to make the postseason once again, what're the chances he actually stays here long-term? The chances feel awfully minimal.

Acquiring Paul Goldschmidt gives the Angels a massive boost both offensively and defensively in their push to the playoffs. Can you imagine a 2-3-4 of Trout, Ohtani, and Goldschmidt? Adding a four-time Gold Glover would be good for the defense too.

The problem here is Goldschmidt is making $26 million this season. In order for the Angels to stay under the luxury tax, a number which Arte Moreno has refused year after year to cross, they'd have to shed a ton of money to make that happen. They'd either have to trade one of Anthony Rendon, Mike Trout, or Shohei Ohtani (not happening) or find a way to trade Hunter Renfroe and other pieces to do enough to keep the Halos under the tax.

Unless Arte Moreno changes his philosophy with the luxury tax, and nothing that I've seen from him tells me that he will, a Goldschmidt trade feels very unlikely unless St. Louis for some reason would agree to eat the money on the deal.

It's unfortunate that a team that plays in a huge market like the Angels would be concerned about the luxury tax when they have two of the greatest players ever on the team right now, but Arte Moreno has crossed that line once in his entire tenure as owner. Will he do it again? Maybe. Do I need to see it to believe it? Absolutely.

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