The D'Backs are not going to compete in 2019 and Paul Goldschmidt was not going to be a D'Back in 2020, so the D'Backs shipped Goldy and his 1 season contract of $14.5 M to the Cardinals for RHP Luke Weaver, C Carson Kelly 2B prospect Andy Young and a B Compensation draft pick. Let's break it down:
Paul Goldschmidt- After a slow start to 2018 in April and a terrible May, Goldy raked like Goldy the rest of the way and ended up with a .290 BA, 33 HR and an fWAR of 5.1. 2015 may have been his peak season, but he's still pretty danged good. He gives the Cardinals a huge boost in the middle of their lineup. Matt Carpenter can go back to 3B and voila! They have a lineup that should contend for a championship, at a very inexpensive price and very low risk. Great add for the Cards if they are making a run in 2019, which they obviously are.
Luke Weaver- Weaver took a step back last year with an ERA of 4.95 in 136.1 IP. But he's just 25 years old and has multiple years of control on his contract.
Carson Kelly- Kelly appeared to be the successor to Yadier Molina in St Louis, but Yadi just ain't havin' it! Kelly scouts as a superior defensive catcher with a middling bat in the minors which so far has not translated at the MLB level but he really has not gotten many chances either. D'Backs can now afford to give him the playing time he needs to find his true talent level in MLB, whatever that is.
Andy Young- 2018 A+: .276/.372/.444, 12 HR, 8.8 BB%, 16.8 K%, 351 PA. 2018 AA: .319/.385/.556, 9 HR, 4.6 BB%, 17.1 K%, 152 PA. Young is the type of prospect the Cardinals are famous for. Low round draft pick(37) who does a lot of things well, but nothing great. Could be playing 2B for the D'Backs by midseason or earlier.
Analysis: This is all about the D'Backs getting what they could for Goldy before he left via free agency. Although all 3 return player either have MLB experience or are close to MLB ready, they all have relatively high floor/low ceilings and none of them are "sure things.". Maybe a tad light from the D'Backs end?
As for the Cardinals, raised their odds of winning the NL Central, NL Pennant and World Series in 2019 with this move. This puts tremendous pressure on the Cubs and BrewCrew to not stand pat. Does it increase their interest in a certain NL West pitcher who will also be a free agent after 2019? Stay tuned. The Hot Stove is burning up!
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And the prices go up, as Eovaldi beats another MLBTR prediction (4yr@$60M):
ReplyDeleteThe Red Sox have struck a deal to bring back righty Nathan Eovaldi, pending a physical, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). The ACES client has secured a four-year, $67.5MM contract