Mariners dodge potential obstacle after Cardinals make decision on Paul Goldschmidt

The Seattle Mariners need to be active this offseason in their attempts to upgrade at first base. For years now, the club has desperately tried to find the answer but have instead been stuck with the likes of Evan White and stud-turned-dud Ty France at the position.

With their eyes on contention in 2025, there's no reason why the Mariners shouldn't strike and reel in one of the top options on the free-agent market. Christian Walker, Pete Alonso and even Paul Goldschmidt make a ton of sense to take over at the position starting next year.

Of that trio, Goldschmidt is easily going to come the cheapest, both due to the fact that he's older and he's coming off a bit of a down year. The Cardinals elected not to extend a qualifying offer his way and that decision may suddenly make him the most attractive of the bunch.

The concept behind this is simple. If the Cardinals gave Goldschmidt a qualifying offer (QO) — as the D-backs did with Walker and the Mets with Alonso — and he declined and eventually signed with the Mariners, Seattle would lose at least one pick in next year's MLB Draft. The QO is in place so teams can be properly compensated when losing their top players in free agency.

Paul Goldschmidt not having qualifying offer attached makes him prime target for Mariners

Goldschmidt, a future Hall of Famer, may have had a down year, but that doesn't mean he is completely valueless moving forward. The 37-year-old singlehandedly outperformed Mariners first basemen in home runs, AVG and OBP while nearly matching them in RBI and runs scored.

His numbers on the year fell just short of league-average, according to Baseball Reference's OPS+, as he finished at 98 — 2% below the average. However, 22 home runs and 65 RBI isn't exactly "bad" from an aging veteran like Goldy.

Where he really turned on the jets was during the second half of the 2024 season. A hot stretch of play during that run boosted his value on the free agent market in a huge way. In 62 second-half contests, Goldschmidt hit nine homers while driving in 28 runs and sporting a line of .271/.319/.480 (and a smooth 120 wRC+ along the way). This version of him looked a lot more like what we're used to seeing.

That's the latest sample we've gotten from Goldschmidt. He sure started the 2024 campaign on a rough note, but his second-half turnaround provides hope for a team like the Mariners who could pursue him on the open market. Since he won't come with the complicated compensation picks like Walker and Alonso, Goldschmidt is shaping up to be the perfect fit on a short-term deal in Seattle.