When the Cardinals traded for Paul Goldschmidt last offseason, it seemed as if they had finally acquired a middle-of-the-order force that could anchor the offense and provide accolade-worthy defense at first base. Nonetheless, things did not go exactly according to plan in Goldschmidt’s first year with the team.
Goldschmidt added 2.9 WAR to the team, which is solid, but it is not nearly what the team was expecting. He had posted a WAR of 4.9, 5.3, and 5.2 in each of the last three seasons, respectively, so this was quite a drop from his usual production.