St. Louis Cardinals: Putting Jose Martinez on the block is a huge mistake

The Paul Goldschmidt move had my hopes high that the St. Louis Cardinals front office was willing to do what needed to be done. Now, with the Cardinals valuing Fowler over Martinez and refusing to pursue Harper, I am not so sure anymore.

I was as pumped as all of you after the Paul Goldschmidt trade.  He added a perennial MVP candidate to this team without adding much by way of salary.  He left open the possibility of the St. Louis Cardinals spending in free agency on a Bryce Harper or Manny Machado.

But as many of my fellow fans and writers have noted, without a signing like Harper or Machado, the moves the St. Louis Cardinals have made to this point simply aren’t enough. This team is stocked with premier supporting pieces, so the focus should be on acquiring the stars that those pieces can thrive around.

It’s not like money should be a huge issue here. The team could afford to build a juggernaut, but they are only halfheartedly going all in for 2019. They could go big, but they are telling everyone they won’t.

They are choosing cop out and cheapen up yet again.  Instead of swinging for the fences with big money free agents, the Cardinals front office is looking to trade one of their best offensive assets for next to nothing. They are doing that and committing to Dexter Fowler even though it is not in the best interest of the team.

All just to save some money.

There is no justifiable reason to choose Dexter Fowler over Jose Martinez and there is no justifiable reason to trade Jose Martinez for a middling lefty reliever with one or two years of control left. Jose Martinez, if traded, should return a haul of prospects. Otherwise, he should start in right field and Dexter Fowler should be the fourth outfielder.