Report: Cardinals, Goldschmidt close on five-year, $130 million extension

Former Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is closing in on a five-year, $130 million extension with the St. Louis Cardinals, Ken Rosenthal reported Thursday.

Goldschmidt was traded to the Cardinals this offseason after both the D-backs and Goldschmidt couldn’t come to an agreement. America’s first baseman was heading into the final year of his contract with the D-backs with a salary of $14.5 million. According to our own 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station‘s John Gambadoro, discussions started at $200 million.

The 31-year-old had a slow start to his 2018 campaign, hitting just .096 through the first 20 games of the season.

He was able to bounce back in June, as he won the National League Player of the Month Award for the first time in his career and made his sixth consecutive All-Star appearance, finishing the year with a .290 batting average, 33 home runs and 83 RBIs. He also finishes second in D-Backs’ history behind only Luis Gonzalez in games played (1,088), home runs (209), RBIs (710), hits (1,179), runs scored (708) and doubles (267).

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo declined comment after the deal was reported, but said he wishes Goldschmidt good luck.

A similar contract to Goldschmidt’s is another former Arizona Diamondback, outfielder J.D. Martinez.

Martinez was traded from the Detroit Tigers to Arizona during the 2017 season in which he hit .303 with 45 home runs and 104 RBIs, a statistically better final season in the Valley compared to Goldschmidt’s.

Prior to the 2018 season, Martinez received a five-year, $110 million contract as a free agent from the Boston Red Sox. Goldschmidt’s extension will surpass Martinez’s in total money, according to Rosenthal. There are also multiple opt-outs in Martinez’s contact, but it has not been disclosed whether Goldschmidt’s will include opt-outs as well.

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