Brewers’ World Series triumph makes Cardinals’ Christian Yelich miss sting even more

The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions, and it stings a little bit more knowing that Christian Yelich, the club's captain and catalyst for much of their success since 2018, easily could have been a St. Louis Cardinal.

During the 2017-2018 offseason, the Cardinals went hunting for a middle-of-the-order bat, and luckily for them, three different options presented themselves in the Miami Marlins outfield. Their first choice, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player Giancarlo Stanton, vetoed a trade to both the Cardinals and San Francisco Giants after both clubs came to agreements with the Marlins. Stanton was eventually routed to the Yankees, leaving Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna to potentially acquire.

The Cardinals' first choice was Yelich, seeing him as one of the best young players in the sport. The Marlins played hardball with the Cardinals, and since John Mozeliak was feeling the pressure to get that big bat, they pivoted to a deal for Ozuna that involved prospects Zac Gallen and Sandy Alcantara. Ouch!

The Brewers, who waited out the process patiently, then swung a deal for Yelich, who went on to win MVP for them in 2018, runner-up in 2019, and helped power the Brewers' lineup as they became a top contender in the National League. The Cardinals, on the other hand, got some fine but not spectacular seasons from Ozuna, and slowly saw themselves fall from relevance.

It's hard not to wonder how Christian Yelich would have changed that if he were in a Cardinal uniform.

Christian Yelich may have helped the Cardinals find more success

If the Cardinals had received Yelich, it would not only have changed the Brewers' trajectory, but it would have given the Cardinals an MVP-caliber player to pair with Paul Goldschmidt during their 2019 NLCS run.

Goldschmidt was acquired by the Cardinals after the 2018 season to pair with Ozuna, but had he been with Yelich, the Cardinals may have had the firepower they needed to push for the World Series in 2019. Yelich posted an unreal 1.100 OPS in 2019, while Ozuna posted a really solid .800 OPS with St. Louis, but with poor defense.

A lot more would likely have changed for St. Louis in the process. I'm not sure how likely it would have been that they'd go out and trade for Nolan Arenado with both Goldschmidt and Yelich locked into big-time contracts, and Yelich did regress after 2019. The Cardinals also drafted rising star Alec Burleson with the compensation draft pick they received for Ozuna leaving in free agency, so the Cardinals likely don't have Burleson now either.

If you're not a believer that Yelich would have changed the Cardinals' destiny in 2019, then the trade may not have done much to change their on-field results. It would have had a larger impact on how the Brewers ended up forming, but then again, they didn't reach World Series glory until Yelich was in the latter stages of his career.

The Brewers are an extremely well-run organization, so there's a good chance they would have pivoted and found themselves another great player, though it's hard to replicate what Yelich did in 2018 and 2019. Perhaps they would have found someone who produces more from 2020-2026, but I think they are pretty darn happy with Yelich, their first captain in team history.

Congratulations to the Brewers. They are worthy World Series champions. The Cardinals have a lot of ground to make up, and they've done a really nice job of laying the groundwork over the last few years. This should become a really fun rivalry again over the next few seasons.

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