I agree. It’s the same situation with Molina in 2018, Carpenter in 2019, and Mikolas in 2023. There was no reason to sign these guys to an extension early on. We aren’t getting a discount and taking on all the risk.
Two of these are not like the other two, but yes, the Cards need to be smarter on these type deals. Pujols surprised me on the positive side for a farewell deal. Like Pugs said, it’s easy to forget how much Goldy’s glove brings. In 2022, I would’ve watched the Cards just to see the infield play defense. Or maybe that was 2021, or both years.
Regardless, any deal made needs to be consistent with an honest projection of Goldy’s baseball performance going forward and projections get more accurate the longer you wait.