We’re now less than three weeks from pitchers and catchers reporting to Salt River Fields, and it feels like the D-backs’ off-season remains a work in progress. With all respect to Taylor Clarke, the bullpen has barely been touched. We don’t know who will be replacing Lourdes Gurriel in left field on Opening Day. Arizona is still waiting to find out what will happen with regard to the bonus draft pick connected to Zac Gallen [despite a report in December the Cubs were “close to finalizing an agreement” with him]. But perhaps no topic, outside of the Ketel Marte trade rumors, has been more discussed than a potential reunion with Paul Goldschmidt.

Goldy remains the best position player in franchise history, putting up an average of almost five bWAR across his eight seasons with the team. That included six All-Star appearances, and a trio of top three finishes in MVP voting, as well as likely the best value extension in franchise history. But, with one season left to go on that contract, Mike Hazen dealt Goldschmidt to the St. Louis Cardinals, for Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver, Andrew Young and a competitive balance pick, which became Dominic Fletcher. Even though none of those panned out long-term, given it was in exchange for just one year of Goldy, you’d be hard pushed to call it a bad trade.

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It is fair, however, to ask why the team did not work out a contract extension with Goldschmidt. The Cardinals certainly did, agreeing a five-year, $130 million deal before the following Opening Day. After a shaky first season in St. Louis, the deal turned out a good price for St. Louis. Goldschmidt posted 20.9 bWAR over the 2020-2024 period included in the extension. It included Goldschmidt finally snaring the NL MVP honor in 2022, which had eluded him with the D-backs. However, the Cardinals failed to get past the wild-card round in three successive years, Goldscbmidt hitting just .174 (4-for-23) in the postseason over that contract.

When it expired, he went to the Bronx, signing a one-year deal worth $12.5 million with the New York Yankees. Aged 38 by the time the Yankees exited in the AL Division Series against the Blue Jays, it seems that Father Time might finally be catching up to him. Paul struggled significantly against right-hand pitching in 2024 and 2025. Across a total of 853 plate-appearances there, he hit only .237/.284/.367 for a .651 OPS. Goldschmidt was still solid against left-handed pitchers, albeit in a smaller sample (335 PA). He hit .315/.389/.522 for a .911 OPS there over the last two seasons. Goldschmidt hit the open market again this winter.

The case for Goldschmidt

Right now, the plan for the D-backs would involve a platoon of left-hander Pavin Smith and right-hander Tyler Locklear. However, Locklear ended up missing the end of the season with injury, after a collision at first with Boston’s Connor Wong, when trying to field and an errant throw from Jordan Lawlar. Whether due to that, or a pre-existing condition, subsequent evaluation determined Lockler needed surgery both on his ulnar collateral ligament (elbow) and labrum (shoulder). While there’s been no news since, Paul Gambadoro said at the time that Locklear could return late in spring, but would potentially miss the first month of the season before being 100%.

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There’s also the question of how good he will be. Locklear came over from the Mariners in the Suarez trade, but did not impress before the injury. Across 31 games as a Diamondback, he hit just .175, with a .529 OPS and 43 strikeouts over 116 PA. It is true that Tyler only turned 25 in November, and has less than fifty games of experience at the major-league level. Which is fine, if the team is punting on 2026, and thinking about Locklear as a long-term solution. Let him take his licks this year, and hopefully, he’ll become capable of taking over full-time down the road.

But if the team is committed to competing in 2026 – and, at least publicly, that seems to be the approach Hazen is advocating – Locklear might not be good enough, even after he has fully recovered from those surgical processes. Signing Goldschmidt as a one-year platoon partner, to face left-handed pitching, while Smith gets the bulk of the at-bats against righties (where he has a career .772 OPS), might not be the worst thing in the world. There’s also a lot of residual love in the fanbase for Goldschmidt, understandably so. Bringing him back and allowing him to finish his career where it started could perhaps end up in Goldy entering Cooperstown as a Diamondback.

The case against Goldschmidt

The biggest obstacle to Paul returning to the desert, might well be Paul himself. On the latest edition of Snakes Territory, Jack Sommers reports [around ninety seconds in] that Goldschmidt still thinks he’s worth an everyday spot in the line-up, rather than having a roster spot and getting fewer starts on the weak side of a platoon. The D-backs are not willing to pay the obviously increased salary due to an everyday player – Jack reckoned they are more or less capped at around a $5 million salary for the spot. He also mentioned the Padres as a possible alternative landing spot, who could be willing to give Goldschmidt that everyday job and the matching price.

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There hasn’t been much chatter otherwise regarding where Goldschmidt might go. The fact, again, we are less than one month away from spring training, and Paul is still unemployed, suggests there may be a gap between what he wants, and what teams are looking for – both in role and cost. There’s also the question of how much Goldschmidt wants to return – to the same team and GM which wouldn’t extend him, and traded him instead. According to Nick Piecoro, writing at the time of the trade to St. Louis, “Sources indicated that preliminary conversations with Goldschmidt’s camp left the Diamondbacks less than confident they would be able to reach an agreement.”

Does he hold a grudge? It doesn’t seem that the laid-back Paul we knew would be the kind to do so, instead accepting that it was (to misquote The Godfather) “not personal, Goldy – it’s strictly business.” But it doesn’t appear he is (yet) willing to bend on his demands for the season, and give a home-town discount in financial or other areas. As the trade of Goldschmidt shows, Mike Hazen makes decisions with his head, not his heart, even when these are unpopular with the fans. I don’t expect this to change: if Goldschmidt is going to be a D-back in 2026, I think it’ll be on the team’s terms. Otherwise, expect an alternative – perhaps someone like Ty France.

What do you reckon? Should the team sign Goldschmidt or not? That’s what the comments are for…