Jody Oehler says the Arizona Diamondbacks made a mistake by trading star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for right handed pitcher Luke Weaver, catcher Carson Kelly and infielder Andrew Young.
"The trade of Paul Goldschmidt, in my opinion, is a mistake for the Arizona Diamondbacks. It is something that fans will take a long time to forgive them for. It's going to take a perfect set of cirmumstances for the trade of Paul Goldschmidt to result in on-field success for the Diamondbacks.
But it's also completely logical and defensible in the current landscape of Major League Baseball."
Goldy is a six-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger and three-time Gold Glove winner in his eight seasons with the club. He has hit 30 or more homers in four of his last six seasons, including 33 homers with 83 RBI this year.
Here's the full D-Backs Press Release inlcuding insight into the players coming to Arizona and statements from GM Mike Hazen, owner Ken Kendrick and president/CEO Derrick Hall.
D-BACKS ACQUIRE LUKE WEAVER, CARSON KELLY, ANDREW YOUNG AND A COMPETITIVE BALANCE PICK
FROM THE CARDINALS FOR PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT
PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired RHP Luke Weaver (@DreamWeava7), C Carson Kelly (@carskelly), INF Andrew Young (@AndyjYoung15) and a 2019 Competitive Balance Round B draft pick (No. 6) from the St. Louis Cardinals for INF Paul Goldschmidt. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is now at 37.
D-backs Senior Vice President & General Manager Mike Hazen will be available on a conference call at 4:00 p.m. PHX (6:00 p.m. ET). The call-in number is 877.820.7831, passcode 6637172#.
“I would like to personally thank Paul Goldschmidt for everything he did as a D-back,” said D-backs Executive Vice President & General Manager Mike Hazen. “It’s not often you come across a player of his caliber who carries himself with such selflessness and humility, both on and off the field, while representing the organization and the state of Arizona.”
Weaver, 25, was 7-11 with a 4.95 ERA (75 ER in 136.1 IP) and 121 strikeouts in 30 games (25 starts) for the Cardinals in 2018, including a 3.57 ERA (16 ER in 40.1 IP) over his final 8 starts. He also ranked third on the Cardinals in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts, and posted a 21.38 pct. swing-and-miss rate on his fastball, the 23rd-best mark in the Majors (min. 1,000 pitches).
Weaver entered 2017 ranked by Baseball America as the Cardinals’ No. 2 prospect (50th overall) and went 7-2 with a 3.88 ERA (26 ER in 60.1 IP) and 72 strikeouts in 13 games (10 starts) for St. Louis. As a starter, he averaged 11.22 strikeouts per 9.0 innings, the third-highest mark in the National League after Robbie Ray/ARI (12.11) and Max Scherzer/WSH (12.02), and recorded a 4.93 strikeout-to-walk ratio (69 SO/14 BB), the fourth-best mark in the NL, behind Clayton Kershaw/LAD (6.73), Jeff Samardzija/SF (6.41) and Madison Bumgarner/SF (5.05) [min. 10 GS].
Also in 2017, Weaver became the fifth rookie pitcher in the previous 70 years to allow 2 runs or fewer in 7 consecutive winning starts (August 2-September 20), joining Fernando Valenzuela/LAD (8 starts in 1981), Cal Eldred/MIL (1992), Jared Weaver/LAA (2006) and Steven Matz/NYM (2016) [source: Elias Sports Bureau].
The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder was named the Cardinals’ 2016 Minor League Pitcher of the Year after going 7-3 with a 1.30 ERA (12 ER in 83.0 IP), .206 opponent average, 12 walks and 92 strikeouts with Triple-A Memphis and Double-A Springfield. He made his Major League debut on August 13, 2016 @ Cubs (2 ER in 4.0 IP).
Weaver has gone 15-17 with a 4.79 ERA (124 ER in 233.0 IP) and 238 strikeouts in 52 Major League games (43 starts) with St. Louis (2016-18), and 25-11 with a 2.03 ERA (63 ER in 279.1 IP) and 275 strikeouts in 54 starts over 5 Minor League seasons in the Cardinals’ organization (2014-18). He was selected in the first round (27th overall) in the 2014 draft out of Florida State University.
Kelly, 24, was ranked by Baseball Prospectus as a Top 7 catcher in 2017-18 at Triple-A (2018: No. 7 with a 9.9 FRAA_ADJ; 2017: No. 6 with a 12.2 FRAA_ADJ) and has been worth +22.1 runs defensively, third-most in Triple-A.
*FRAA_ADJ is the total of the values of FRAA augmented with framing, throwing and blocking contributions.
He was ranked by Baseball America in 2018 as the second-best defensive catcher in the Minor Leagues, the third-best catching prospect in the Minors and the Cardinals' No. 3 prospect.
Kelly was named a midseason All-Star in 2017 with Memphis, 2016 with Springfield and 2014 with Single-A Peoria, a 2016 Futures Game selection with Springfield, a 2016 Arizona Fall League Rising Stars and All-Prospect Team selection with Glendale, a 2015 MiLB Gold Glove recipient with Single-A Advanced Palm Beach and a 2014 MiLB.com organization All-Star.
He played for the Cardinals in parts of the last 3 seasons (2016-18), appearing in 63 games and hitting .154 (18-for-117) with a .227 OBP/.188 SLG/.415 OPS with 4 doubles, 10 RBI and 8 walks. Defensively, he has caught in 57 games (27 starts) with a 4.11 catchers ERA and .996 fielding percentage (1 E in 282 TC) while throwing out 2-of-13 attempted basestealers.
Over parts of 3 seasons at Memphis, he appeared in 183 games and hit .278 (181-for-651) with a .373 OBP/.416 SLG/.789 OPS, 37 doubles, 1 triple, 17 homers, 96 RBI and 92 walks. He started 183 games at catcher and posted a .994 fielding percentage (9 E in 1591 TC) while throwing out 35-of-120 attempted basestealers.
In 6 Minor League seasons (2012-18) in the Cardinals’ organization, he appeared in 622 games and hit .255 (573-for-2249) with a .324 OBP/.380 SLG/.704 OPS, 111 doubles, 7 triples, 52 homers, 284 RBI and 208 walks. Kelly appeared in 426 games (423 starts) at catcher and compiled a .993 fielding percentage (24 E in 3618 TC) while throwing out 48.2 pct. (124-of-257) attempted basestealers. He also logged time at third base (144 G) and first base (1 game).
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound right-handed hitter was the Cardinals' second-round pick in the 2012 draft out of Westview High School in Portland, Ore.
Young, 24, finished fifth in the 2018 Arizona Fall League with a .936 OPS, was a midseason All-Star in 2018 at Single-A Advanced Palm Beach and 2017 at Peoria and was also named a 2017 MiLB.com organization All-Star.
In 20 games with Surprise in the 2018 AFL, he hit .301 (22-for-73) with a .416 OBP/.521 SLG/.936 OPS, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 3 homers, 15 RBI and 14 walks. Following the season, Young was named by MLB.com as one of the league’s Top 10 breakout prospects.
He spent 2018 with Springfield (35 G) and Palm Beach (84 G) and hit .289 (125-for-432) with a .379 OBP/.479 SLG/.858 OPS, 13 doubles, 3 triples, 21 homers, 58 RBI and 38 walks in 119 games. He appeared in 103 games (101 starts) at second base and 14 games (12 starts) at third base.
In 37 games at Springfield between 2017-18, he hit .326 (45-for-138) with a .408 OBP/.558 SLG/.966 OPS, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 9 homers, 25 RBI and 8 walks.
In 3 seasons in the Cardinals' system, he has appeared in 289 games and hit .281 (291-for-1034) with a .367 OBP/.462 SLG/.829 OPS, 38 doubles, 13 triples, 41 homers, 141 RBI and 88 walks. Young has appeared at second base (189 games), third base (40), shortstop (40), left field (7) and right field (2). In 269 games (262 starts) at second, third and shortstop, he has a combined .981 fielding percentage (20 E in 1,068 TC).
The 6-foot-0, 195-pound right-handed hitter was the Cardinals' 37th-round pick in the 2016 draft out of Indiana State University. He is a native of West Fargo, North Dakota.
Goldschmidt, 31, is 2-time runner-up for the NL Most Valuable Player Award, a 6-time NL All-Star and won 4 Louisville Slugger® Silver Slugger Awards™ and 3 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards® at first base, while hitting .297 (1,182-for-3,975)/.398 OBP/.532 SLG with 267 doubles, 209 home runs and 710 RBI in 8 seasons with the D-backs (2011-18). He ranked among the franchise leaders in OPS (1st, .930), on-base pct. (1st), slugging pct. (1st), walks (1st, 655), home runs (2nd), RBI (2nd), average (2nd), hits (2nd), doubles (2nd) and games (2nd, 1,092).
QUOTES FROM KEN KENDRICK AND DERRICK HALL
D-backs Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick
“Paul has been a key member of the D-backs family and this is not a decision we made without careful thought and consideration. Ultimately, we have complete confidence in Mike Hazen and our Baseball Operations staff and we are all in agreement that this was the best decision, but that doesn’t minimize how much Paul has meant to us and will continue to mean to us. He is a great player but an even better person.”
D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall
“This was an extremely difficult decision given how much Paul has meant to our team both on and off the field. He represents everything it means to be a D-back, and we are very thankful to him for all that he has done for our franchise and our fans. We wish him, Amy and their family nothing but the best in the years ahead.”
— DBACKS.COM —