Cardinals need to stop relying on Goldschmidt and Arenado as cornerstones

The Cardinals deserve credit for being bold in their pursuit of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. They acquired each star at the best possible time, when they were both still in their prime and capable of leading the team to a World Series title.

However, in recent years we have seen a marked decline in this tandem. Since finishing first and third, respectively, in the 2022 MVP race, Goldy and Arenado have fallen on hard times.

One would expect an offense with both stars to be one of the best offenses in the league. But this is not the case. Yes, that could be the case if they were producing, but it’s time to accept the harsh reality that neither star is in their prime anymore and the Cardinals need to stop relying on them to carry the offense and being the cornerstone of the franchise.

At this point, these guys are no longer your two best players. That time is over, and as hard as it is to accept, the Cardinals really wasted their early years. They could have kept Randy Arozarena or gone after Nick Castellanos in 2020. But they didn’t.

They also could have added high-profile pitchers at any time between 2019 and 2023. They didn’t. As such, the Cardinals have only played three playoff games with Goldy and Arenado on the roster. They lost all three games and haven’t won a playoff game in almost four years.

And as the team declined, so did Goldschmidt and Arenado. Now, neither of them are producing like they should, and it stands to reason why the offense is so inconsistent and not one of the best offenses in the league.

We don’t yet know what the Cardinals are going to do at the trade deadline, and it’s really unclear because of how bad the National League is this year. Next month should determine what they do.

But whether they buy or sell, they need to stop relying on Goldschmidt and Arenado as franchise cornerstones, because they simply aren’t those guys anymore. Acquiring both sluggers was a good move on John Mozeliak’s part, but it just didn’t work out.

If the Cardinals were to sell, I would expect at least one of them to be traded at the deadline. It’s more than likely that Goldschmidt won’t be back on the team in 2025. But even if they buy in, Goldschmidt and Arenado are no longer the franchise superstars they once were.

If the Cardinals really want to take advantage of the return of Willson Contreras, Tommy Edman and Lars Nootbaar, they will need to make some changes to the roster. That’s not to say Goldy and Nolan still can’t contribute in some way, but seeing them hit in the heart of the order is what drags the team down.

The Cardinals have a solid 1-2 at the top of the lineup with Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson. That I wouldn’t change. But when you get your injured bats back, if you want to get better, building the lineup around other guys is the only thing that will help you.

That means moving Goldy and Arenado down in the order, even near the bottom. Contreras had been the Cardinals’ best hitter until he was injured, so if I were Oli Marmol, I’d hit him to third and let Lars Nootbaar clean up, because Nolan Gorman is also struggling.

It might also be worth giving them a few days off. It seemed to work with Goldy in May before the Cardinals recovered from nine games under .500 to get back into contention. Arenado also needed a night off at Rickwood Field anyway. Maybe sitting him out for a few extra days will help him get started.

Regardless, the Cardinals can’t continue to rely on Goldy and Arenado to carry the offense. That’s simply not their role anymore. Losing Contreras hurts, but he’s your centerpiece now, and when he returns, the lineup should be built around him, Burleson and Winn.