Arizona Diamondbacks http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-reggie-jackson-jersey , that was definitely worth the price they paid for.The package that the Cardinals had to put together for Goldschmidt was expensive, but he provides them everything that they have been missing for many seasons. He will provide his new team with qualities they haven't had in a long time.Goldschmidt is the type of player the Cardinals have been missing since former player, Albert Pujols, left the team for a big money contract from the Los Angeles Angles. He supply's them with middle-of-the-order power, and great defense at first base.advertisingPaul Goldschmidt is the sort of middle-of-the-order force the Cardinals have lacked since Albert Pujols left. A momentous trade for them. He's got a year left on his deal, and the Cardinals paid handsomely for him.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 5, 2018The six-time All-Star will give the Cardinals a major upgrade just off his offensive capability alone. Last season, Goldschmidt hit 33 home-runs and drove in 83 runs. But that's just the beginning, he also hit for a .290 batting average and a .922 OPS.There's no question that Goldschmidt carried the Diamondbacks offense again for the sixth straight season. Over those six seasons, he has averaged 30 home-runs and 100 RBI's. With his break-out year back in 2013, when he hit for 36 long-balls and 125 RBI's.Goldschmidt will likely be seen carrying the Cardinals offesnse next season as well, which is why he should be hitting in the number three spot in their lineup heading into 2019. Here is what the projected batting lineup will look like for the Cardinals.advertisingMatt Carpenter, Yadier Molina, Paul Goldschmidt, Marcell Ozuna, Paul DeJong, Kolten Wong Andrelton Simmons Jersey , Harrison Bader, Dexter Folwer, and the pitcher's spot.Paul Goldschmidt is 1 of 2 position players and 3 players overall with 4.5+ WAR each season since 2013. The others are Mike Trout and Max Scherzer.— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) December 5, 2018The 31-year-old also provides spectacular defense at the first-base position. He is a Gold Glove award winner and has never made more than seven errors in a season. Which will improve the Cardinals from a season ago, because they made a league-leading 20 errors at first-base last season.Carpenter played the majority of last season at first-base. He committed eight of those 20 total errors, while also creating eight errors at the third-base position as well. He has always been known for making errors聽throughout his entire career. Which is where Goldschmidt will look to help clean up that area.advertisingWith Goldschmidt playing at first-base, Carpenter will be able to return to his regular position at third-base. The rest of the Cardinals defense is projected to look as follows; Molina at catcher, Goldschmidt at first-base, Wong at second-base, DeJong at shortstop, Carpenter at third-base, Ozuna in left-field, Fowler in center-field and Hader in right-field.The #Cardinals get Paul Goldschmidt in a painless fashion. It is not often that a club adds an MVP caliber-player like this without it stinging a bit. The three players may help the #Dbacks and the draft pick helps too but the Cards are protected with their depth.— Steve Phillips (@StevePhillipsGM) December 5, 2018The acquisition of Goldschmidt did cost the Cardinals some very valuable assets. They were forced to give up聽Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver, Andy Young and the club's Compensation Round B selection in the 2019 MLB Draft.Kelly and Weaver are the centerpieces of the return going back to the Diamondbacks. Kelly is a very solid defensive catcher, but where he lacks is in his hitting. He will be able to start in games this season for the Diamondbacks http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-yunel-escobar-jersey , but will likely be hitting at the bottom of the lineup with his .154 batting average in 63 appearances in the MLB.For Weaver, his future as either a starter or a reliever is still undecided. It sounds like the Diamondbacks are going to try him out as a starter heading into next season. Last season, he started 25 games for the Cardinals and also appeared five times from out of the bullpen.The Cardinals were able to include these players because of the depth they have at those two positions. Andrew Knizner is close to as good of a catcher as Kelly is, but he is a way more developed hitter then Kelly as well.They also have Alex Reyes coming back from Tommy John surgery and will likely factor into the role that is left vacant by Weaver next season. Getty ImagesGoldschmidt will only be under contract for this upcoming season. He is scheduled to make $14.5 million for next season. The Cardinals will likely offer him a three or four year extension either before the season or after it.He will only be 32-years-old heading into the 2020 season, so it's very unlikely that he will regress to the point where he is unable to still produce like he is now. Which is why if the Cardinals were able to re-sign him until his mid-to-late 30s, they should be able to still get quality production out of him.The decision to acquire Goldschmidt from the Diamondbacks was definitely the right one for the Cardinals. He is the key piece they have been missing from their lineup. Which is why with the trade now completed, the Cardinals are a team ready to compete for the division next season. CHICAGO (AP) — No team in the National League piled up more victories than the Chicago Cubs through 162 games. That seems like small consolation now.Kyle Hendricks gave up a tiebreaking single to Tony Wolters in the 13th inning, sending the Cubs to a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies in a marathon wild-card game on Tuesday night.Chicago lost two home games with a chance to reach the NL Division Series. The Cubs scored a total of two runs over 22 innings, dropping a tiebreaker to Milwaukee for the NL Central championship and then getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Rockies.They squandered a dominant start by Jon Lester, got shut down by Kyle Freeland and wasted several big scoring opportunities. Hendricks came in to retire the final two batters in the 12th and got the first two in the 13th before running into trouble.Trevor Story grounded a single through the left side and Gerardo Parra lined one to right, putting runners at first and third. Wolters — who came into the game as part of a double switch in the 12th — then drove an RBI single up the middle.In the bottom half, Terrance Gore acted as if he was hit by a tight pitch leading off and ran to first before being ordered back to the box. The Cubs challenged the call to no avail. Gore, Baez and Albert Almora Jr. then struck out, bringing a marathon game and a difficult season to a fitting end.“We have had a lot of things go awry this year and in spite that have still tied for the most wins in the National League in a 162-game season,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Again, that speaks to the quality of the player in the room of the and even though maybe the numbers offensively didn’t matchup, these guys put up 95 wins.”The Cubs had a long line of injuries and didn’t get the contributions they expected from some key players Martin Maldonado Jersey , including Yu Darvish and Kris Bryant. That didn’t stop them from going from 4 1/2 games behind Milwaukee in late May to leading the division by five in early September, only to have the Brewers tie them on the final weekend of the regular season.They got shut down by Jhoulys Chacin in a 3-1 tiebreaker loss to Milwaukee, then had to watch Colorado celebrate after winning the longest win-or-go home game in major league history.“All I can say is I’m extremely proud of how we’ve come together,” Kris Bryant said.It was a bitter end for a team that made the NLCS the previous three years and won a World Series in 2016 that ended a drought dating to 1908. A franchise that for decades was defined by heartache has more wins the past four seasons than any other team.The Cubs beat Pittsburgh in a wild-card game in 2015 after a 97-win breakout regular season that established them championship contenders. But the expectations since then have changed. And this loss stings.“In 2015, we were winning the wild-card game no matter what,” Rizzo said. “In 2018, I’d say fans were (ticked) that we were in the wild-card game. We had a chance to win the division and we didn’t. We’ve really flipped this culture here.”The Cubs — who finished fourth in the NL in runs despite being held to one or zero in 39 regular-season games, one fewer than Baltimore for most in the majors — managed just four hits in 6 2/3 innings against Freeland.Anthony Rizzo grounded into a double-play with two on in the sixth, and they left the bases loaded in the seventh when Jason Heyward struck out.Chicago had another chance in the 11th.Baez walked leading off against Seunghwan Oh and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Almora. Daniel Murphy was intentionally walked and Baez got tagged out by Arenado on Willson Contreras‘ grounder to third.As Arenado applied the tag in the middle of the base path between second and third, Baez wrapped his arms around him. Arenado smiled and patted him rather than try a throw to first.Chris Rusin then retired pinch-hitter Victor Caratini on a grounder to first to end the inning.“At the end of the day, coming down the stretch I felt like we played good baseball,” Lester said. “I mean, it wasn’t like we beat ourselves. Sometimes you have to tip your hat to the opponent. You go 13 innings tonight against a really tough team and we come out on the short end of the stick, but I feel like we should have won that game.”