Two Ways to Look at the St. Louis Cardinals’ Pursuit of Juan Soto

The St. Louis Cardinals did not pull the trigger on a deal for superstar Juan Soto, and there are two ways to look at how this saga played out for them.

The St. Louis Cardinals pursuit of superstar outfielder Juan Soto was well documented over the last few weeks, and as it got later into July, there was real buzz that the 23-year old would end up in St. Louis in a blockbuster deadline deal.

August 2nd, the San Diego Padres ended any dreams of that, acquiring Soto and Josh Bell from the Washington Nationals as part of a historic deadline for the club. They are fully prepared to chase a World Series this year, and see the Soto trade as the final piece to their puzzle.

Most fans knew going into this process that things would have to break right for the Cardinals to be the team that lands Soto. It was established early on, both by reporting and team precedent, that they were not going to sell the entire farm to get Soto, and that there were certain players they would refuse to part with – namely Jordan Walker and Dylan Carlson.

This was not the fault of Walker or Carlson that a deal did not get done, but more a reluctance on the end of the front office to part with their rising talent for a generational superstar. Some are breathing a sigh of relief that a deal was not made, and others are furious at the decision to now throw in bigger names to get it done.

There are many different feelings or perspectives to have with the Soto sweepstakes, but here are the two main narratives that could be taken away from how the Cardinals’ pursuit fell short. It is up to fans, management, and the clubhouse to decide which camp they fall in.