Angels' Shohei Ohtani blunder may have cost the Cardinals another superstar

For Cardinals fans, it may be hard to let go the memories of the 2022 season and what could have been. After all, it was the end of an era and a farewell to two of the most beloved players in franchise history. The heartbreak of the 2022 Wild Card against the Phillies still weighs heavily in St. Louis, as does the last recollection of what used to be a yearly tradition in our city: postseason baseball.

Therefore, it's difficult to forget a what-if that may have changed the trajectory of the Cardinals organization: the potential acquisition of superstar Juan Soto. Of course, the San Diego Padres ended up landing Soto, and they gave up a wealth of prospects that will continue to pay dividends in Washington for years to come, but had San Diego gone in an even more aggressive direction at that year's deadline, things could've gone differently for the Cardinals, who finished runner-up in the Soto sweepstakes.

It feels impossible that the Padres could've made a bigger swing at the deadline, but one of a small handful of players superior to Soto was available in 2022. Or at least, he should've been. Knowing the trajectory the Los Angeles Angels have taken after having both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani under team control for six years is quite disheartening. Ohtani's exodus from Anaheim appeared inevitable to everyone except owner Arte Moreno, and the Angels paid the price, holding onto their golden goose for far too long.

The Angels could have received a haul from the Padres for Shohei Ohtani, leaving the Cardinals as the primary suitor for Juan Soto.

Rather than getting the haul of hauls for a once-in-a-generation player, they gutted their already weak farm system for a failed final attempt to contend and received nothing more than a compensatory pick when Ohtani inevitably went north to join the Dodgers. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Padres had an offer in place to acquire Ohtani, which looked similar to the Soto deal, and also included budding superstar Jackson Merrill.

Knowing that the Angels also could've acquired a combination of CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, and James Wood, among other intriguing young players, makes this deal a slam-dunk yes for Angels management in hindsight.

Had Ohtani left for San Diego that summer, the Cardinals would've been frontrunners for the Juan Soto sweepstakes and likely would've landed him. Of course, it's possible another contender would've swooped in and offered a better package, but the Nationals likely would've ended up with the Cardinals' proposed deal instead.

Official terms of the deal won't be available, but Josh Jacobs provided a sufficient outline for what this trade might've looked like. His proposed package of Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore, Masyn Winn, Tink Hence, and Dylan Carlson looks like highway robbery in hindsight.

Of course, the stories on these young players are not yet finished, but it looks like Liberatore and Winn are the only two players who are sticking at the Major League level. Walker and Gorman appear to be the latest in the list of top Cardinals prospects who have disappointed. Hence continues to display reliever risk with constant injury concerns, and Dylan Carlson seems to have completely washed out between stints in Tampa Bay and Baltimore.

Giving up only two or three pieces with true Major League upside in exchange for a generational bat like Juan Soto would've been a steal for the Cardinals in hindsight and could've been the move that put a magical team over the top. Adding Soto to the heart of the Cardinals' order, which already had Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado finishing first and third in MVP voting; capitalizing on the re-emergence of prime Albert Pujols; and developing young talents Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan would've made them one of the National League's favorites.

Of course, they still could've fallen to the Phillies in heartbreaking fashion in two games, but with Soto anchoring one of the deepest lineups in baseball, the Cardinals would've had as good a chance as any of reversing their fate. Perhaps a Padres team led by Shohei Ohtani at the height of his two-way powers would've squashed the Cardinals' title hopes in the NLCS. But with the Angels' massive blunder and inaction at the trade deadline, we'll never truly know how this magical season could've panned out.