caulfield12

(There goes the money earmarked for LUIS Robert, Heyward, David Price and Giancarlo Stanton...) Jacob Goldschmidt, 3, toddled after the father, and as they headed into the clubhouse, the younger Goldschmidt beamed: “Daddy, this place (Jupiter, FL) is amazing.” This place is now home. The Cardinals and their new first baseman are finalizing a five-year, $130 million deal that will make Goldschmidt the highest-paid player in club history, two sources with direct knowledge of the negotiation told the Post-Dispatch. The deal includes a no-trade clause, no opt-outs, and will keep him with the Cardinals through 2024 and age 37. The agreement, reached Thursday, will be officially announced Saturday at the team’s spring complex after Goldschmidt passes a physical set for Friday, a source detailed. Team officials declined comment, and Goldschmidt was only briefly in the clubhouse after the Cardinals’ 11-3 victory over the Yankees at Roger Dean Stadium. “We are working toward something,” said John Mozeliak, the president of baseball operations. The Cardinals acquired Goldschmidt, 31, in a four-player trade with Arizona in December, and he arrived with one year remaining on his contract. The Cardinals said at the time their goal was to woo the perennial MVP candidate into sticking around, permanently. The initial goal was to let him get familiar with the organization and play at a sold-out Busch Stadium before “shoving” extension negotiations on him. Earlier this month, a Cardinals official said it made sense for him to see the pageantry of opening day and have his wife and two children live in St. Louis before exploring talks. They accelerated in the past week. A record deal was reached before his first official at-bat, before he slipped on his official home whites for the first time. Jacob already has a matching home jersey, though his name is shortened to “GOLDY” to fit across his smaller frame. In Goldschmidt, the Cardinals found the broad-shouldered presence they’ve been chasing since three-time MVP Albert Pujols left for the Angels as a free agent. Jason Heyward rejected the Cardinals for the Cubs after a year in St. Louis, and 15 months ago Giancarlo Stanton vetoed a trade to the Cardinals so that he could force his way to the Yankees. The success the Cardinals had acquiring and maintaining signature players like Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds and, most recently, Matt Holliday had waned in recent years. That only heightened their hopes to court and keep Goldschmidt. “So when you talk about why Goldschmidt vs. X, Y, or Z, it was because of those intangibles of how he is as a player and as a person,” Mozeliak said in an interview a week ago in his office. He was detailing the team’s decision to aggressively pursue a trade for Goldschmidt. “Through that process we were trying to identify what that might look like, and we just didn’t seem to be able to do what we were hoping to do any other way. That’s why there was a lot of urgency to do something with Paul. “I do think the value add of Goldy is he’s going to make your infield stronger, he’s going to make you lineup stronger,” Mozeliak concluded. “And we’ve already seen how he’s going to make your clubhouse stronger.” ... “He’s been everything that has been advertised,” manager Mike Shildt said late Thursday night. “The beautiful thing about Goldy is he just has to be himself. He is really strongly committed to winning. He wants to do it in every facet of the game. When you have a guy who is one of your better players have that mentality, it has a lot of residual effect. A pro’s pro.” All spring, Goldschmidt politely declined to discuss his contract situation, saying he preferred to keep his thoughts private. He has spoken openly, however, about his concern for the stagnant free-agent market that has greeted players the past two winters and what it says about teams’ willingness to spend to give fans the best product possible. In the past week, in part because of the frigid free agency, baseball has gone extension happy...continued https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/jackpot-cardinals-goldschmidt-finalizing-club-record-extension-for-new-franchise/article_b0c87b64-26ef-5b47-95cb-bc889a9f1ffc.html Interestingly, the biggest deal before this for the Cardinals was Matt Holliday for 7/$120 million and Molina’s $20 million AAV.

Down to JDM, Rendon, Bogaerts, Didi Gregorious, Castellanos, Puig, M. Ozuna, Donaldson. Grandal, Scooter Gennett... TEN names and counting, less opportunities available by the day. “Note: I’m currently operating under the assumption that club options for Corey Kluber, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Quintana, Chris Archer, Starling Marte, and Matt Carpenter will be exercised after the season, and that Stephen Strasburgand Yu Darvish will not opt out of their contracts.” Mlbtraderumors.com

Is it his plant or front foot when he's hitting or throwing...?

Or he's on Jack Parkman's Giolito PR-spin payroll...

Pete Incaviglia or Kevin Reimer come to mind. Hopefully he can learn to be an above average 1B so he at least has SOME positional versatility. Just focus on hitting...and figuring out how to overhaul that T-bar or arm bar element of his swing that might not hold up when he reaches AA and starts facing 95-100 mph heat consistently.

Last year's list was ... not great, Bob. American League Cy Young winner Blake Snell was my best pick, and Xander Bogaerts also did what I hoped he'd do in a healthy, full season. I still think some of those guys are good breakout candidates for 2019 -- Max Kepler for sure, Nomar Mazara again, Byron Buxton forever, Lucas Giolito now that he's healthy and has his velocity back -- but for this column I'll stick with new names. (behind paywall) http://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/26316165/keith-law-mlb-breakout-players-2019

Or go to Yolmer/Rondon...and hope for another 2-3 fWAR season.

Should be Jake Burger Gobbling Up Burgers and preparing for a new career as an H-back or pulling guard...

He's perfectly fine as a platoon DH getting 350 at-bats against mostly RH pitching...but might as well let him see if he can hit lefties as well. Unfortunately, that's going to conflict with too many weird roster fits (like Jay and especially Guyer) who don't necessarily belong on a rebuilding team.

He's much bigger than Palka was last year...I guess all that time off his feet didn't do much for his fitness level. Theoretically, he did lots of exercises in the training pool, but this is the body of a DH (think Matt Stairs X 2) if ever there was one.

It really comes down to Guyer vs. Rondon at this point. While it would be NICE to have Guyer on a playoff contending team as part of a platoon, he's more one of those Steve Pearce dudes who belong on a better team in a limited role, not getting regular at-bats and taking them from a youngster. Despite the defensive issues, they better not block Palka behind Jay in RF...but you have a feeling Renteria will pull an Ozzie and regularly go with the veteran. Other than NYY, the schedule's pretty soft in the first month...seems they're pulling out all the stops (including Jimenez) not to get buried in the standings by May 15th.

27 is more than occasional....plus the exit velocity, he actually makes contact, he kills it.

They're going to discover some type of "fuzzy" knee issue (see Astros' or Orioles' SOP) that's not conclusive from the MRI's and try to discount the contract terms or get an additional option year. Just kidding. (Hopefully.)

Phil Humber is the best we can expect. A near Cy Young campaign from Nova is about as improbable as Murray St. winning the NCAA tournament.

Burger or Mendick, lol...Trey M. Actually, Jose Rondon is the best option, along with Yolmer obviously.

feel like Palka needs to hit everyday at Charlotte...

I’m taking back my comments about that pen beating the current one. Ruiz is going to be a monster when he figures out how to pitch instead of throw. Colome/Herrera Fry Jones/Ruiz Frare Covey/Banuelos/Hamilton/Burr/Burdi/Thompson Best bullpen in the division, for sure. At least one aspect of the club to look forward to.

Jose Ruiz is going to be the next Sox closer...if Cooper can work on his offspeed stuff. Consistently 97-99, two years removed from catching, we don’t even need a Burdi or Hamilton (Which makes Burdi pick look dumber by the day). Lots of similarities with Sergio Santos. If Nate Jones can get straightened out, Hamilton’s shoulder heals and Burdi gets back to 100%, that’s just a nasty pen. Burr has looked much more confident this spring as well, fwiw.

From now on, he’s “Lone Survivor”...probably from the disabled list. Btw, is LuBob or LuRob still the official SoxTalk nickname for Robert?

If you follow that tweet, Big Dic$ Nick was one of the better contributions... Mags2 is terrible...magical or the magician, it sorta sounds like that “Nobody Beats The Whiz” dude from Seinfeld. Dad’s name rolls off the tongue....aren’t there the Madrigal Singers as well? Elk Grove High School • Majoring in sociology. • Born March 5, 1997 in Sacramento, Calif. • Son of Angie Day and Mike Madrigal. • Has three brothers, Ty, Zack and Brooks, and one sister, Emma. • Enjoys fishing and playing ping pong in his spare time. • Favorite athlete is Jose Altuve. Favorite movie is Lone Survivor. • Chose Oregon State because a “baseball atmosphere that is unbelieveable. Oregon State has the best fans and coaches in the nation.”

Herrera’s in the game right now...96 mph.

Day after day after day...Severino, Jesus Lazardo, at least PTAC will keep busy.

If you follow that tweet, Big Dic$ Nick was one of the better contributions...

http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/ja-morant/OUZ4OHWJEeS00gAmVebEWg/default.htm KW seen at Murray St./Marquette, believes Ja Morant “can easily surpass Tim Anderson on the baseball field with the right coaching.”

https://mobile.twitter.com/Ecnerwal23/status/1003781747086123009