3 Cardinals offseason moves that already look bad

Trading Tyler O'Neill

As Cardinals fans, we could've seen this one coming from a mile away. Randy Arozarena and Adolis Garcia were both unproven talents before winning the ALCS MVP award, but Tyler O'Neill had already shown flashes of greatness. His 2021 season will go down as one of the biggest what-ifs in Cardinals history. After struggling at the plate from 2018 to 2020, O'Neill finally broke out, hitting 34 home runs and finishing 8th in NL MVP voting.

Injuries derailed the remainder of his Cardinals career, and after turmoil brewed between O'Neill and the Cardinals clubhouse, particularly manager Oli Marmol, it was time to part ways with the outfielder. With an outfield consisting of Walker, Nootbaar, and Edman with Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, and Victor Scott II as depth options, it certainly didn't make sense to hold onto O'Neill and his salary.

However, with Nootbaar and Edman on the IL to start the season, O'Neill sure would have come in handy as another outfield option. Now that it looks like he's finally healthy, he's showing shades of 2021 in Boston. He homered for a record 5th consecutive Opening Day, and he hasn't slowed down. In his first 7 games, Tyler O'Neill has homered 5 times for a league-leading 1.490 OPS and 328 OPS+. He certainly won't be able to keep that pace up, but it looks like MVP candidate O'Neill has returned.

I'm not saying the Cardinals should have kept O'Neill, as it simply wasn't going to work out with all the friction between him and the front office, but the return should definitely have been better. The Cardinals tipped their hand early, as they made it clear there was almost no way O'Neill would remain in St. Louis for 2024, thus tanking his trade value. While Nick Robertson is a promising bullpen arm, he's still in Triple-A to start the season. The other arm, Victor Santos, is a wildcard but could develop into a solid bullpen piece as well.

However, this is not nearly enough return for a middle-of-the-lineup outfielder. Had the Cardinals played their hand better, the return they got in exchange for O'Neill could have been much better. They held onto him for too long, he's breaking out with another team, and all they have to show for it are two middling Minor League relievers.

Everything with Tommy Edman

The mishandling of Tommy Edman is perhaps the front office's biggest offense this offseason. At Winter Warm-Up, John Mozeliak noted that he failed to acknowledge Edman's wrist injury because he didn't think it was important. He led fans to believe that Edman would be ready for Opening Day with no problem. Not only did Edman miss all of Spring Training, but he could also miss the rest of the season. After declaring Edman as the starting center fielder, nothing has gone right.

The Cardinals even signed Edman to a two-year contract extension, buying out his final two arbitration years. Had they understood the severity of Edman's injury at the time, this extension probably could've been avoided. Instead, the Cardinals are locked into yet another arbitration contract with a player whose health is in question and has lost significant trade value.

Had the Cardinals moved on from Edman at the trade deadline last year or even earlier in the 2023 offseason, they could've recouped significant value for a piece that has multiple redundancies on the Cardinals' roster. However, they held onto Edman as insurance for Victor Scott II, Dylan Carlson, and Masyn Winn. Carlson is now hurt, and both Scott and Winn are regulars in the Cardinals lineup, leaving little room for Edman.

It's also no guarantee that Edman will be the same player he once was after returning from such a severe injury. If Victor Scott runs with his opportunity in center field and Masyn Winn continues playing at the level he has to start the season, Edman will be relegated to a bench utility role. For a player signed to a hefty arbitration deal, it makes the most sense for the Cardinals to trade him and fill other holes on the roster. However, it looks like the team has waited too long once again and will have to wait until he returns and rebuilds his once sky-high value.