JUPITER, Fla. St. Louis manager Mike Shildt’s phone lit up with texts and calls praising the character of Paul Goldschmidt after the Cardinals traded for the slugging first baseman in December.
“A lot of times the hyperbole doesn’t meet what’s real,” Shildt said. “In this case it’s exceeded it. He’s come in and been unbelievably engaging, thoughtful, proactive. He’s really smart and he’s really dedicated to what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. Hes exceeded expectations already, before we even got on the field.”
Goldschmidt has physically been in Jupiter for about 10 days. Mentally, he’s been in a Cardinals uniform for months.
Shortly after the trade, he began swapping texts with Cardinals coaches and teammates discussing the finer points of the game, like baserunning and taking leads.
St. Louis traded right-hander Luke Weaver, catcher Carson Kelly, minor leaguer Andy Young and a draft pick for Goldschmidt, whom Shildt called one of the “top five players in baseball.”
Goldschmidt hit .290 with 33 homers and 83 RBIs in 2018. For his career, he’s a .297 hitter with 209 homers over eight seasons. The Cardinals hope Goldschmidt will add pop in the middle of the order. A three-time Gold Glove first baseman, Goldschmidt will also stabilize a Cardinals defense that led the majors in errors last season.
Shildt is already smiling at the thought of a lineup that features Goldschmidt, Matt Carpenter and a healthy Marcell Ozuna potentially at cleanup.
“I dont have an announcement to make, but I know he’s going to hit in the top three,” Shildt said of Goldschmidt. “And Carp will hit one, so we can do the math from there.”
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