Arizona Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt Trade Rumors

Arizona Diamondbacks icon Paul Goldschmidt has one year, $14.5MM remaining on his contract. With a bloated set of contracts on the books and a pair of top free agents gone to the open market, a rebuild in Arizona feels imminent.

So long as Paul Goldschmidt remains in an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform, however, there’s at least a chance Arizona will pump out enough offense to stay competitive. As of right now, that appears likely.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter) that trade talks for Goldschmidt are not yet serious. They have begun but not yet progressed past the initial stage. The most meaningful interest in Goldschmidt that has thus far surfaced has come from the Cardinals and the Astros.

The Cardinals are always looking for high-character contributors like Goldy, so their interest makes some sense. At the same time, Matt Carpenter has primarily been a first baseman, and the Cardinals have seemed most comfortable leaving him there. They could deal from their stable of arms in the upper levels of the minors, but ML-readiness might not be the quality the Diamondbacks value most. This doesn’t look like a natural fit to me, but it’s not totally out of left field either.

For the Astros, incumbent first baseman Yuli Gurriel plans on taking up some of the utility responsibilities formerly the charge of Marwin Gonzalez. Gurriel could cycle in and out of first, third, left field and designated hitter if the Astros were to make a big move like acquiring Goldschmidt.

If Paul Goldschmidt does get moved, it’ll likely wait until a few of the offseason’s major puzzle pieces fall into place. The Arizona Diamondbacks might be motivated to set the direction of their franchise quickly, but procuring the largest possible return for Goldy should far and away be their priority. If trade talks move slowly, that’s a good sign.