Dahl to Rangers; What are the St. Louis Cardinals Doing?

When news came out Friday evening that outfielder David Dahl signed with the Texas Rangers, a great option for the St. Louis Cardinals came off the board. What is the team doing?

The St. Louis Cardinals have had a quiet offseason. The team is seemingly focused on retaining catcher Yadier Molina and pitcher Adam Wainwright. But the need for offense is still high on the priorities list. One such option was recent non-tender David Dahl.

Dahl is an outfielder and a lefty bat, two things the Cardinals could benefit from adding. Friday evening the news came that Dahl signed with the Texas Rangers.

My initial thought was that a great option for the team was now off the market, but then the numbers stood out.

$3 million dollars? What are the St. Louis Cardinals doing? To be fair, every team other than the Rangers could be criticized for not signing Dahl to that contract, and I don’t want to pass judgment on the Cardinals offseason until it’s over, but at first glance this is a huge missed opportunity.

There are other good options left in free agency, and the trade market is always a possibility. We’ll see what others like Eddie Rosario and Kyle Schwarber sign for. Dahl has always shown potential but has been injured often. A fresh start with a new team might jumpstart his career.

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The Cardinals are planning to cut payroll and apparently haven’t finalized a budget for 2021 yet. If they bring back Molina, does that hamper their search for hitting? It’s a possibility. If Dahl’s market led him to a $3 million deal, the Cardinals reasonably could have jumped in those sweepstakes and made a real offer to sign him.

I don’t pretend to be an economist or to pretend that I am qualified to tell the Cardinals how they should spend and how much they should spend. But from the outside, $3 million is imminently doable.

So, what are the Cardinals doing? Right now they seem to be taking their time and waiting on the market to play out. That’s a smart thing to do. The market is flooding with good players and come the next month or so, the supply might outweigh the demand.

But if the likes of David Dahl are signing for $3 million, don’t wait and see who’s left when the smoke clears. Be bold, assess the options, pick the best fit and go for it.