3 Cardinals offseason moves that already look bad

Though not the most popular amongst fans, the St. Louis Cardinals had a loud offseason. So far, most of those moves look solid, as the Cardinals are off to a much better start than the horrid April that ruined any hopes of contention in 2023. However, with as many moves as the Cardinals made, a few of them are bound to be misses. Here are three Cardinals' offseason moves that already look bad.

Signing Brandon Crawford

Brandon Crawford was signed as a defensive shortstop and a backup to Masyn Winn in the event that Winn would be ineffective or injured at the Major League level. While the 4-time Gold Glover was still a plus defender in his final year in San Francisco, his bat simply wasn't producing anymore. Like Matt Carpenter, Crawford was supposed to be utilized as a veteran voice with minimal playing time as long as Winn was healthy and productive.

So far, Masyn Winn has been much better offensively than he was last year, and his defense is still as advertised. So why did Brandon Crawford draw two starts in the first week of the season? Well, the first was a scheduled off-day for the 22-year-old rookie. The second was a start against Padres' Joe Musgrove, whom Crawford has had historically great numbers against.

Why not only Winn but also Jordan Walker received scheduled off days in favor of Matt Carpenter and Brandon Crawford just three days into the young season baffled many Cardinals fans. It resulted in the first Cardinals win of the season, but the process was incorrect at every step of the way. Even in the late innings, Crawford was not replaced in favor of Winn despite Winn's superior defense.

While it was more understandable playing the matchups against Musgrove, the team needed to understand that much of Crawford's success came in his 4th-place MVP season in 2021. In just his second appearance of the season, Crawford misplayed a soft ground ball that resulted in a decisive run for the Padres that Masyn Winn almost certainly would've recorded an out on. Moreover, Crawford failed to record a hit against Musgrove, so Marmol's decision didn't work out offensively either.

With Edman out for a prolonged period, it's understandable that the Cardinals would turn to a veteran such as Crawford to back up the position, but sitting Winn this often after a stellar start to the season makes the team look bad. As a veteran presence, Crawford should be able to stay ready despite limited playing time. I hope to see much less playing time for Crawford in the future.

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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.