The St. Louis Cardinals are a perfect fit for Shohei Ohtani

ST LOUIS, MO - JUNE 23: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim bats against the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium on June 23, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - JUNE 23: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim bats against the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium on June 23, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
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The St. Louis Cardinals have a rare opportunity to address multiple areas of their roster with just one player. And that player may be interested in a move to a playoff contender.

There are a lot of opinions on what the St. Louis Cardinals should focus on this offseason. Catcher upgrades, starting pitching, the outfield– while there aren’t any obvious flaws to the currently constructed Cardinals team, there are countless ways to improve.

The problem, of course, is that it’s difficult to upgrade and change everything. If you spend money or trade prospects for pitching, that leaves less resources for another hitter, and vice versa. Professional teams face this issue every offseason, and must make carefully calculated decisions in order to best improve their club.

So it appears the St. Louis Cardinals, like most baseball teams in most offseasons, will have to make a choice on which part of their roster to spend big. But what if there was a way to do all of it? A solution that would address both the top of the rotation and the middle of the order? Yes, I’m talking about Shohei Ohtani.

A recent report from Ohtani in Japan saying that while he had, “a good season for me personally,” Ohtani wasn’t thrilled with the 2022 season; “We were not able to play as many good games as we would like—including 14 consecutive losses. So I have a rather negative impression of this season.”

Entering the final year of arbitration, the 28-year old megastar might be hinting at wanting to leave the Los Angeles Angels. And if the opportunity presents itself, the St. Louis Cardinals should do whatever it takes to acquire him. Besides the obvious– Shohei Ohtani is really good at baseball– here are three reasons why it makes sense for St. Louis to trade for Shohei Ohtani.

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