After nearly two months of the season and almost a third of the games played, is it possible the Diamondbacks are the early winners of the Paul Goldschmidt trade?
Back in December when the Dbacks decided to swap their All Star First Baseman and face of the franchise, it felt like it would have been impossible for the Dbacks to wk the deal from a talent perspective. Financially it made sense but talent-wise and team-wise it did not.
Both the Cardinals and Diamondbacks are just one game above .500, which is good for the Dbacks and not so good for the Cardinals.
Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .254 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI’s for the Cardinals who are in 4th place in the NL Central. The Cardinals signed Goldy to a 5 year/$130 million contract in late March.
St Louis fans are not happy.
The Dbacks haul?
Carson Kelly has been decent.
He’s hitting .253 with 4 HR’s, practically Ruthian by Dbacks catching standards but pretty ordinary overall. But he’s been fine and is still just 24.
The real gem has been Luke Weaver who has been the Diamondbacks 2nd best starting pitcher through 10 starts.
He’s touched the upper 90’s with his fastball and is on pace for over 200 strikeouts and less than 50 walks on the year. He’s been exceptional with a 3.14 ERA and given his age (25) and relative inexperience (only 53 career starts), he likely has room to improve.
I vehemently disagreed with the decision to trade Paul Goldschmidt. The Dbacks could have and should have paid him long term.
But, so far Mike Hazen is proving me wrong.
Which player would you rather have? A 31 year old slugging first baseman locked up for the next 5 years at $130 million guaranteed? Or, a 25 year old potential top of the rotation starter under team control for the next 4 seasons?
That answer is easy.
So far, Luke Weaver is making the Diamondbacks a winner in the Paul Goldschmidt trade.