8 free agent duds we’re glad the St. Louis Cardinals didn’t sign

The St. Louis Cardinals are criticized for not spending in free agency, but there were a lot of duds we’re glad the team didn’t take a shot on.

It’s getting later into the season and time to think on what could have and should have been for the St. Louis Cardinals, who seem to be teetering on the brink of ending their season sooner than we all anticipate.

After the Cardinals traded for Nolan Arenado before the 2021 season, fans were hopeful this was a message from management that they were all-in on making a run for it this season.

Pair Arenado with Paul Goldschmidt, Yadier Molina, Jack Flaherty, and Adam Wainwright, it would seem a recipe for success.

The success never came. Flaherty and other members of the rotation have dealt with injuries all season. The lineup has seen its fair share of injuries as well. Arenado has been great at the hot corner but has struggled to really get on a consistent hot streak. Goldschmidt is heating up now and we can only hope Arenado and Paul DeJong, Tyler O’Neill or Lars Nootbaar can match.

It’s obvious the Cardinals could have used some more pieces to solidify the success we’d hoped to see.

Should the Cardinals have sought more help in free agency? Sure, but we are way past the point of making any real impact now.

It would seem John Mozeliak, Cardinals president of baseball operations, saw the writing on the wall with the available free-agent market. He is possibly waiting to spend free-agent money on quality players available this off-season.

As it stands now, there are a lot of free agents that turned out to be absolute duds and we are so glad Mo didn’t take a flier on them.

Let’s take a look at some of those duds we are glad Mo said No on.