Once upon a time, this Yankees postseason hero was set to be a Cardinal

I'm not sure about you, but every time I see Giancarlo Stanton play baseball, I wonder what it would have been like to see him play for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Had Stanton signed off on a trade in 2017, he would have done just that.

Following the conclusion of the 2017 season, the Cardinals were looking to add a middle-of-the-order bat to jumpstart their offense. The Miami Marlins at that time were looking to shed Stanton and his 13-year, $325 million contract to a suitor that he would approve of. And yes, believe it or not, Bill DeWitt Jr. signed off on a trade that John Mozeliak and the Cardinals' front office orchestrated to bring Stanton to town.

In case you don't remember the context of the situation, Stanton possessed a no-trade clause and had to sign off on any trade that the Marlins agreed to. Both the Cardinals and Giants made proposals to Miami that they agreed to, but Stanton declined both destinations, seeking to find a way to the Dodgers or the Yankees.

"We had an agreement to acquire Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins, subject to him waiving his no-trade clause," Cardinals chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said in the aftermath. "While we are disappointed in his decision, we will continue to make every effort to improve our club for the upcoming season."

Things have not been all sunshine and rainbows for Stanton since being traded to the Yankees though. Stanton has battled a lot of injuries since coming to New York, and he was even publicly called out by Yankees' GM Brian Cashman this past offseason for that.

Still, when healthy, Stanton has mostly been a big bat for the Yankees' offense and he has consistently come up big in the postseason for them. That is especially true this year though, as Stanton has now mashed six home runs through 10 postseason games, winning ALCS MVP in their matchup against the Guardians.

I'm working on a story right now reflecting on multiple moments in Cardinals history that could have changed the trajectory of the club. The Stanton deal is certainly one of them. St. Louis ended up pivoting to Marcell Ozuna, a decision that the club would greatly regret as they sent Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen to Miami in that package. The Cardinals likely would have given up both players in the Stanton deal as well.

Had the Cardinals landed Stanton, it would have been interesting to see how it impacted future opportunities they were presented with. Would they have still traded for both Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in the following years? How would they have handled the clog of young outfielders coming up? With the universal designated hitter rule not coming until 2022, the Cardinals would have had to figure out how to get Stanton in their lineup by playing the outfield each day.

I think it is pretty safe to say the Cardinals were better off not acquiring Stanton, as being on the hook for his massive deal in recent years probably would have done more harm than good, especially with how he has struggled to stay healthy. Still, Stanton is an awesome player and making noise in October right now, so it is hard not to let yourself dream for a moment about Stanton mashing baseballs in Busch Stadium for the Cardinals.