Can We Just Lock Up Goldy, Already?

I was walking on my college campus yesterday wearing a Paul Goldschmidt jersey t-shirt and out of the corner of my ear I heard: “Goldschmidt sucks!” First of all, that guy was a jerk and second of all, where was he getting his research from? In 41 at-bats this spring, Goldschmidt is hitting a jaw-dropping .415 with an OBP of .489. Aside from strengthening up his bat, Goldy has improved his defense as well and he takes pride in it. I think it’s safe to say that Goldy doesn’t “suck,” despite what this rogue individual thought (he was wearing a Dodgers hat so I automatically disliked him.)

Every time I look at a box score, I ask myself, “why haven’t we locked up Goldschmidt long-term?” Maybe Kevin Towers knows something we don’t because he declined to comment when asked about the possibility of a contract extension with the 25-year old. It may seem far-fetched but I’m beginning to think Paul Goldschmidt belongs in the group of elite first-basemen in the league. I believe the group includes guys like Mark Teixeira (healthy) and Joey Votto. Yes, there are more but I will just name a couple. Defensively, Goldschmidt is a giant 6’3” magnet next to first base. Over the last two years, Goldy has committed only seven errors to go along with a .9975 fielding percentage over that span. Not too shabby, huh? The defensive prowess should be reason enough to sign Goldschmidt long-term.

Flashing the leather, as usual.

You can’t forget about Goldy at the plate either. Aside from stats mentioned above, Paul was in the Top 25 in the league in numerous categories last year. These categories include batting average, doubles, OBP, slugging percentage and walks. Wow! Goldschmidt has become a powerhouse not only for the D’backs, but in the entire league as well. Let’s rememeber, Goldy is only 25 and has really been in the league for less than two seasons. Goldschmidt has showed consistent growth over the last couple years and now it’s the organizations turn to reward him. I’m sure this deal is not happening quickly because as usual, Goldy and the organization are probably on different pages as far as their wallets are concerned. Although his salary was set near 500K last year, Goldschmidt was certainly Arizona’s million-dollar man (I’m acknowledging that terrible pun and I apologize for it.)

Kevin Towers has showed a lot of brass already this off season, so why stop now? Let’s get things rolling and sign Goldy long-term so he can continue to establish himself as the face of the franchise and this city.

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