Each time two MLB teams execute a trade, there is no way of knowing which one had the better end of the deal until at least a few years have passed.
In many cases, prospects are involved, and we need to give them a few years to see if they pan out or not.
However, there is a truth in most trade negotiations: the vast majority of the times, the team acquiring the established star will “win” the trade.
In many cases, prospects don’t work out as expected, and they often don’t even make the big leagues.
They are like lottery tickets: some, of course, have a safer floor than others, but the most likely scenario is that the impact that the group of prospects has doesn’t measure up to that of the established, veteran contributor, who is more of a known entity.
Having said all this, the Paul Goldschmidt trade between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the St. Louis Cardinals turned out pretty good for the latter.
The D-Backs, meanwhile, are still waiting for one of the players to take a step forward and becomes a stable contributor.
“The Cardinals acquired Paul Goldschmidt in exchange for Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, Andy Young, and a Competitive Balance Round B pick in the 2019 MLB draft,” MLB analyst Danny Vietti tweeted.
The Cardinals acquired Paul Goldschmidt in exchange for Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, Andy Young, and a Competitive Balance Round B pick in the 2019 MLB draft.
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) August 25, 2022
Goldschmidt Has Been On A Tear
The reason why Vietti tweeted that is because Goldschmidt went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three runs, and five RBI in Thursday’s game for the Cardinals.
Not only that, but he is also a legitimate MVP candidate at 34 years old.
He is hitting a cool .335/.417/.622 line this year, with 34 doubles, 31 home runs, and 100 RBI.
He has been, without a doubt, one of the most productive sluggers.
Kelly has alternated good and bad years in Arizona, but owns a paltry .637 OPS this year; while Weaver doesn’t even belong to the organization anymore.
