When the St. Louis Cardinals acquired Paul Goldschmidt, it seemed they had finally acquired the middle of the order force that they were looking for. It did not work out perfectly in the first season, though, as Goldschmidt was good, but he did not reach the same levels that he did in Arizona.
It has been a similar story for Nolan Arenado and the Cardinals. Arenado has been good, and he has been one of the team’s best players, but he has not approached the five WAR seasons that had become customary in Colorado. From 2016-2019, Arenado had four straight seasons with more than five fWAR, including a 6.