Paul Goldschmidt Traded

It looks like the Arizona Diamondbacks will not be waiting for the winter meetings to begin to make their big moves. This afternoon Mike Hazen pulled the trigger on possibly the biggest move of the offseason. Paul Goldschmidt is no longer an Arizona Diamondback.

Arizona’s franchise player was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for right-handed starter, Luke Weaver, catcher Carson Kelly, AA-level utility infielder, Andy Young, and a draft pick from Competitive Balance Round B in the 2019 draft. Derrick Goold and John Gambadoro were the first to report on the subject.

For most Diamondback fans, the return is going to feel underwhelming. Luke Weaver is a back-of-the-rotation starter who struggled in 2018. He logged only 136.1 innings and pitched to a terrible 78 ERA+. However, previously, in 2017, Weaver pitched in 13 games, 10 as a starter and was above league average, posting a 3.88 ERA and a 109 ERA+, backed by a 3.19 FIP.

Carson Kelly now slots in as Arizona’s primary catcher, sliding Avila into the backup role. Once the top catching prospect in baseball, Kelly has yet to find any significant time in the majors, being blocked by perennial all-star Yadier Molina. He entered the 2018 season ranked in the top-50 prospects lists for both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. Dating back three seasons now, Kelly has managed appearances in only 63 games. So far, his bat has yet to join him at the major league level. He is noted for having a decent glove, though he’s had precious little time to put it to use in the bigs. In 128 games for AAA-Memphis, dating back over the same three seasons, Kelly batted .278/.373/.416 and turned in plus defense.

Andy Young is an old-for-level utility infielder who will looks to be headed to AA-Jackson at age 25. In 35 games at the AA level in 2018, Young batted .319/.35/.596 with 9 home runs. Young’s path to the majors is his bat, but he is not slouch with the glove. Much like a recently departed utility infielder, Chris Owings though, Young has trouble taking walks, taking only eight of them in 157 AA plate appearances.

Lastly, the Diamondbacks have secured another draft pick. In addition to their own pick at #75 in Competitive Balance Round B, they now also have the pick that was slotted for St. Louis at #78. In addition to their two first-round picks and the compensation pick for losing Patrick Corbin, they now have five picks in the top 100 and await the final details on A.J. Pollock’s eventual contract to determine if they land a sixth.