The St. Louis Cardinals faced old friend Paul Goldschmidt and the New York Yankees in spring training on Wednesday, and the former MVP first baseman spoke glowingly about his old team, saying that they have talent and could surprise some this season.
“I think they have great players and could surprise a lot of people,” Paul Goldschmidt said, via John Denton of MLB.com. “So, whatever the narrative is outside the clubhouse, I’m sure they’re not paying attention to that.”
Goldschmidt joins a Yankees team that has World Series aspirations, while the Cardinals are transitioning to a youth movement, hoping that players like Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn and Lars Nootbaar prove to be staples for the future. Goldschmidt reflected on his time with the Cardinals, expressing disappointment that they did not achieve the ultimate goal.
“We all know this is a part of the business and something like this could have happened,” Goldschmidt said. “There definitely were some good times, and 2022 was special in so many ways, but last year was also the most disappointing year because I felt like we had a chance to make some noise and maybe win the whole thing.”
It seems that Goldschmidt’s departure from the Cardinals was an amicable one, and now he has a chance to help a contending team. The Cardinals still have Goldschmidt’s good friend, Nolan Arenado, after failing to find a trade to a team that he would have approved. Instead, Arenado is still on the Cardinals, and seemingly going to be an important leader for the young group this season, barring a late trade.
It will be interesting to see if the Cardinals perform as Goldschmidt believe they can this season. There certainly is young and promising talent on the roster, but it remains to be seen if the group comes together to form a winner.
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