Arizona Diamondbacks trade Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis Cardinals

The Arizona Diamondbacks have traded first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to the St. Louis Cardinals.

In return for Goldschmidt, the D-backs receive prospects catcher Carson Kelly, right-handed pitcher Luke Weaver, infielder Andrew Young and a 2019 competitive balance round B draft pick.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

Kelly, 24, has a career .154 batting average in 131 plate appearances over three years with the Cardinals. He is ranked by Baseball America as baseball’s third-best catching prospect.

In 25 starts for the Cardinals last season, Weaver had a 4.95 ERA. He was a first-round pick by the Cardinals in 2014 and the team’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2016.

Young hit .319 in 35 games for Double-A Springfield in 2018.

Goldschmidt has one year left on his deal worth $14.5 million. With the belief that the D-backs would not be able to re-sign Goldschmidt to a contract extension, the 31-year-old was linked to trade talks this offseason.

Arizona lost starting pitcher Patrick Corbin in free agency after he reportedly agreed to a six-year, $140 million deal with the Washington Nationals. Outfielder A.J. Pollock is also a free agent and Zack Greinke has also been in trade reports, with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale saying he would be stunned if the D-backs did not deal Greinke.

With more than 1,000 games played, Goldschmidt is a .297 career hitter with 209 home runs and 710 RBI. Last season, the three-time Silver Slugger Award winner hit .290 with a .922 OPS, 33 home runs, 83 RBI and 95 runs scored. He has never hit lower than .286 for a full season.

Goldschmidt is widely seen as one of the D-backs’ greatest players of all time. He has made six straight All-Star teams since 2013, won three Gold Gloves and has finished in the top-3 of MVP voting on three separate occasions.

Goldschmidt is the franchise leader in walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. He’s second all-time in franchise history for runs, hits, doubles, homers and RBI.

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