Stewart: Diamondbacks Want Goldschmidt To Be a Lifetime Dback

Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart says the team wants superstar first baseman, Paul Goldshcmidt, to remain with the team for life.

Paul Goldschmidt has emerged as the best first baseman in baseball. Taking strides in his career each season, Goldschmidt is on the cusp of his best season of hitting to date, as the slugger is swinging around a .340 clip. It’s no secret that when the team signed him to a 5-year/$32 million contract extension, the team got Goldschmidt on a steal of a deal.

They have team control on him through 2019, when he will turn 32-years-old. At that point, he will probably be the most sought after player in free agency, unless the Diamondbacks and him come to a deal beforehand. Well, with superstar players who can’t bat .340 not exactly growing on trees, the Diamondbacks will have to shell out their largest contract in team history to keep him.

Keep in mind, this is a league that has seen players of comparable numbers get between $200-300 million. While that might worry some fans in Arizona whether or not the team will pony up to cash to keep him, general manager Dave Stewart had some words that should make everyone feel a lot better about keeping their first baseman for a long time.

In an interview with CBS Insider Jon Heyman, Stewart said that the team wants to make Goldschmidt a lifetime Diamondback.

"“We want to make him a lifetime Diamondback,” GM Dave Stewart said by phone.As things stand, Goldschimdt, who leads the NL in RBI (83), batting average (.341) and on-base percentage (.457), is controlled through 2019, when he’ll turn 32. His $32-million, five-year deal, which includes a team option for $14.5 million in ’19, is extremely team friendly based on his recent play, including his $3-million ’15 salary.But an extension could even things out a bit — as well as make the great Goldy a career D-Back."

Heyman also notes in his article, that the deal could come as early as this winter. While it would seem strange to make such a blockbuster contract signing so soon with Goldschmidt under the deal he is currently signed to, it would be a sign of great faith, and would show everyone they know how to take care of one of their own.

Now, if there was a range of the type of contract Goldschmidt will receive, the best idea would be between Joey Votto‘s 12-year/251.5 million dollar deal and Giancarlo Stanton‘s 13-year/$325 million dollar deal. Those numbers might seem high to skeptical Arizona fans who are weary of if there team would actually pay a deal like that.

It’s the going price of superstars these days, and if Stewart’s words are to be believed, that would be the type of deal they would make to keep Paul Goldschmidt a Diamondback for life.

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