Goldschmidt’s Hot Bat Could Unlock Extra $2M

No hitter in baseball had a month quite like the Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt — and the veteran slugger’s torrid May could fill his pockets with extra cash.

On Tuesday, Goldschmidt’s RBI double in the Cardinals’ victory over the Padres extended his hitting streak to 22 games and on-base streak to 36. St. Louis has won eight of its last 11 to pull within three games of the first-place Brewers in the NL Central.

With incentives built into a five-year, $130 million contract signed in 2019, the 34-year-old could rake in up to $2 million on top of the $26 million he’s making in 2022 — which is already second among first basemen and 19th overall in MLB.

• Goldschmidt leads the NL in batting average (.352), hits (64), SLG (.626), OPS (1.049), OPS+ (202), and total bases (114).
• In May, he hit .404 with 10 HRs and 33 RBI for an .817 SLG, .471 OBP, and 1.288 OPS.
• Incentive clauses reportedly include $250,000 for a seventh All-Star Game selection, $250,000 for a Gold Glove (he has no errors in 383 chances), and $50,000 for a fifth Silver Slugger Award.

A run for his first MVP would add even more to Goldschmidt’s potential payday. 

His deal stipulates a bonus of $1.5 million for winning, $1 million for finishing second, $500,000 for third, $250,000 for fourth or fifth, and $100,000 for sixth through 10.

Heading into June, Goldschmidt has the third-best odds (+700) to win NL MVP behind Manny Machado (+275) and Mookie Betts (+350).