1 trade that started the Brewers’ dominance over the Cardinals for almost a decade

Don't get me wrong, the St. Louis Cardinals' free fall from power in the NL Central and the Milwaukee Brewers' rise to prominence can not, and should not, be defined by one trade, but I do think the blockbuster moves these division rivals made sent them on completely different trajectories.

Following the 2017 season, the Cardinals had their eyes set on acquiring an outfielder who could be a middle-of-the-order bat for their lineup. The Miami Marlins happened to have three they were looking to cash in on.

The Cardinals swung a deal for the biggest fish of the bunch, agreeing to acquire Giancarlo Stanton before he declined to waive his no-trade clause. While that was a huge blow for an organization that thought they were acquiring their next face of the franchise, they quickly pivoted to their second favorite target: Christian Yelich.

Wait, what? Why did Yelich become a Brewer then?

When the Cardinals pivoted to Yelich, the Marlins played hardball, refusing to make him available in a deal without the Cardinals blowing them out of the water with an offer. They were willing to trade Marcell Ozuna, though, and eventually the Cardinals caved in and traded for the outfielder coming off a .924 OPS season. Unfortunately, it cost the Cardinals both Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen.

To make matters worse, the Marlins apparently were open to moving Yelich, and after the Cardinals made their big swing for Ozuna, the Brewers swooped in and grabbed the future National League Most Valuable Player from the Marlins.

Ever since those two trades went down, things have gone very differently for the two organizations.

The Brewers have stolen the Cardinals' "Way" in the NL Central after trading for Christian Yelich

Since the Brewers acquired Yelich before the 2018 season, the club has made the postseason seven of the last eight seasons. The Cardinals, on the other hand, have made five trips over the last eight years, missing the postseason each of the last three seasons, assuming they miss October baseball again this year.

In 2018, Yelich's first season with Milwaukee, he took home the NL MVP, and in 2019, he finished second in voting while slugging 44 home runs. The Cardinals' last playoff win and NCLS appearance both came in 2019. I wonder if things would have gone differently for them had they had Yelich.

Here's the deal though, the problem isn't really that the Cardinals missed out on Yelich, which in hindsight was a pretty big deal. Since 2018, Yelich has been one of the best players in baseball and easily one of the most productive outfielders. Among primary outfielders, he ranks seventh in fWAR (28.0), seventh in OBP (.378), ninth in OPS (.867), tenth in wRC+ (135), 12th in AVG (.282), 17th in SLG (.488), and sneakily fourth in stolen bases (149). Considering how bad the Cardinals' outfield production has been for years now, that's a major blow to miss out on elite production from someone like Yelich.

As the Cardinals have sunk further and further into mediocrity, the Brewers have overcome major financial limitations to field a consistent competitor that has an even brighter future ahead of them. They are the team in the NL Central that develops pitching better than anyone else. The Brewers are the organization that knows how to maximize talent and get more than the sum of their parts. It's Milwaukee that everyone wants to emulate, not the Cardinals.

Now it's Chaim Bloom's task to change the narrative. It will take time. The organizational transformation that's needed is a year-long process that Bloom began studying last year and implementing this season. If all goes well, perhaps we'll be looking at the Cardinals in the same light as the Brewers years from now.

But for now, you have to respect the way that Milwaukee has outclassed St. Louis for years.