4 moves the Cardinals need to make after the Winter Meetings

Move #1: Trade Tyler O'Neill

This move has been apparent for quite some time now. Oliver Marmol's comments at the end of the year led fans to speculate that Tyler O'Neill was a player that needed to be "weeded out", and John Mozeliak said the quiet part out loud at the Winter Meetings when he ostensibly said that O'Neill will be traded this offseason.

O'Neill, a former MVP candidate with multiple Gold Gloves and a 30-home run season on his resume, still has value to lots of teams in baseball, and the Cardinals should get a decent return on him. The recent trade of Alex Verdugo, another player who has struggled in recent years, gives fans an outline for the potential return should Tyler O'Neill be traded.

The Boston Red Sox received a bullpen pitcher in Greg Weissert who had a 4.60 ERA in 29 appearances these past two years, and prospects Richard Fitts and Nicholas Judice. Neither Fitts nor Judice were ranked in the Yankees' top 30 prospects. If the Cardinals find a trade partner for O'Neill, it is likely that he nets one prospect from the organization's #20-30 range or a bullpen arm with decent statistics and minimal team control.

Trading O'Neill will clear up an outfield logjam and will provide a window of opportunity for Masyn Winn to show his potential in the majors. O'Neill doesn't seem to have a spot on the team anymore. Mozeliak did quip that when O'Neill is traded, he wouldn't be surprised to see the 28-year-old righty get MVP votes next year. This trend started when the Cardinals traded Randy Arozarena and Adolis Garcia only to see them succeed on their new teams.

"Yeah, (O'Neill) will probably get MVP votes. Do we wish we batted 1.000 (on trades)? Of course, but we are human, and we do make mistakes."

John Mozeliak