Cardinals Miss Out on Juan Soto After Choosing Not To Trade Dylan Carlson

Disclaimer - Initial reporting indicated that Dylan Carlson was a sticking point in the Juan Soto trade talks, but in the days following, more reporting indicates that the Cardinals were not willing to put together the kind of package the Nationals desired

The St. Louis Cardinals pursuit of superstar Juan Soto was ended today as the San Diego Padres pulled of a deal for the superstar outfielder and 1B/OF Josh Bell from the Washington Nationals, per Jon Morosi. 

The Cardinals were in hot pursuit of the Nationals outfielder, who is already one of the best hitters we have seen in decades and is just 23 years old. Although it ended up costing the Nationals a haul to acquire the generational talent, it appears there is one name in particular that ended the Cardinals pursuit of Soto.

Dylan Carlson.

Carlson, 23 years old himself, has been a top prospect for St. Louis over the last few seasons and now finds himself as a rising star in the game. Yet, one has to question whether or not the Cardinals will regret making him the line in the sand in a Soto deal.

Carlson is slashing .250/.318/.405 with 6 HR and playing elite defense in right and center field. While Carlson is a great player, he is far from the generational talent that Soto is. One can easily understand why holding onto Jordan Walker was a must for the club, but any other name being untouchable is a head scratcher out of the young players and prospects.

The Cardinals will now spend the next few hours exploring the starting pitching market to see if they can add another arm to their acquisitions of Jose Quintana and JoJo Romero.

It will be interesting to see the reaction of the fanbase, front office, clubhouse, and national media over the coming days. Opinions and takes are flying everywhere, and only time will tell if John Mozeliak made the right decision not acquiring Juan Soto.