3 players the Cardinals gave up on too soon

Patrick Wisdom

Wisdom, now a member of the division rival Chicago Cubs, was drafted in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Cardinals. Truthfully, he was nothing special for the club in the first few years of his ascent through the minor leagues.

It wasn't until 2017 when the then-25-year-old found some untapped power potential and exploded onto the scene with 31 home runs in 127 games. His strikeouts were high and he didn't hit for average very well, but he suddenly emerged as one of the top power-hitting prospects in the Cardinals' system.

He followed this up with 15 more home runs in 107 games the following season. The front office had seen enough to warrant his first promotion to the big leagues and while he hit well (139 OPS+ in 32 games), he seemed to be a boom-or-bust type of player, meaning he either hits a home run or gets out.

With the infield largely set for the Cardinals (Paul Goldschmidt at first and Matt Carpenter at third) entering 2019, Wisdom had no position for the team. He was then traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for utilityman Drew Robinson. His Rangers career consisted of nine games and four hits with 15 strikeouts in 26 at-bats before he was cut loose.

There's no telling where exactly Wisdom would've slotted into this current Cardinals team. Over the past few years on the Cubs, he has added the corner outfield to his defensive repertoire and could potentially have a role similar to Carpenter's over the years where he bounces around from position to position and hits 25-30 home runs a year for the club.