5 trades the Cardinals likely wish they could do over

There's no easy way to put this. The St. Louis Cardinals are at a crossroads with their future. Their hopes of contending with the core of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado grow thinner as the cornerstone stars continue regressing. While the acquisitions of Goldy and Arenado were great trades by John Mozeliak and the Cardinals' front office, a few lackluster moves by the same leadership group have hindered the organization's progress in recent years. As the trade deadline approaches and the Cardinals prepare to buy, they need to learn from past mistakes and preserve the future. Let's take a look at some trades the Cardinals likely wish they could do over.

Trade 1: Miami Marlins receive Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, Magnueris Sierra, and Daniel Castano. St. Louis Cardinals receive Marcell Ozuna

In hopes of finding outfield stability following the tragic passing of top prospect Oscar Taveras, the Cardinals and the Marlins linked up for a deal in the winter of 2017. While St. Louis was initially interested in former MVP Giancarlo Stanton, and a deal was in place to acquire Stanton instead of Ozuna, the now Yankees' DH vetoed the trade with his no-trade clause.

Even as the Cardinals pivoted to Marcell Ozuna, there was no way to win the trade with the package they gave up. At this point, Sierra and Castano are the throw-in players, neither of whom panned out in the Major Leagues, but Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen developed into two frontline starting pitchers. Compounded with the disappointment of top-end pitching prospects such as Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez, Jack Flaherty, and Alex Reyes, the loss of Alcantara and Gallen as legitimate aces was a huge blow to the organization.

Alcantara won the National League Cy Young award with Miami in 2022, in a year the Cardinals were pitching starved at the deadline and lacked a true ace. The Marlins ultimately traded Gallen to Arizona for Jazz Chisholm Jr., but he has developed into a Cy Young candidate with the Diamondbacks. For a team lacking cost-controlled starting pitching, which has impacted their spending habits tremendously, losing out on two in one package cannot happen.

Moreover, Ozuna saw tremendous regression during his time in St. Louis. Injuries seemed to hinder his swing, and he never truly reached the heights he did in a Marlins uniform. He's performed better in recent years with the Atlanta Braves, but the Cardinals never truly reaped the rewards they could've had from Marcell Ozuna.

Trade 2: Texas Rangers receive Adoils Garcia. St. Louis Cardinals receive cash considerations

When he debuted with the Cardinals in 2018, the 25-year-old Adolis Garcia was mainly viewed as a throwaway prospect to fill outfield depth on the roster. He was never expected to contribute much at the Major League level and wasn't even a top-30 Cardinals prospect at any point. When he was designated for assignment, there was hardly much uproar.

Ultimately, the Cardinals traded Garcia to the Rangers for cash considerations and nothing more. Nobody could've predicted the ascension to stardom that Garcia would eventually mount. Not even the Rangers. In fact, the Rangers designated Garcia for assignment before the 2021 season to make room for Mike Foltynewicz. Fortunately for Texas, nobody claimed Garcia off waivers when given the opportunity, and he was outrighted to Triple-A. The Cardinals, and all 28 other MLB teams, could've picked Garcia up for free, but they chose not to.

Foltynewicz was dreadful for the Rangers in what would be his final MLB season. Still, Garcia was eventually called back up, selected as an All-Star, and finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting, losing out to the next player on this list. He steadily improved from 2021 to 2023, eventually winning the World Series. He was a key contributor to the Rangers' pennant run, earning ALCS MVP honors.

With plus defense in right field, which earned him a Gold Glove in 2023, Garcia could've solidified a very shaky outfield core for the Cardinals. Obviously, nobody could've predicted his miraculous rise in the Majors, but the Cardinals certainly wish they had held onto Garcia for a bit longer.

Trade 4: Washington Nationals receive Lane Thomas. St. Louis Cardinals receive Jon Lester

Lane Thomas, the third of four outfielders traded by the Cardinals on this list, showed immediate promise when he was called up to the Major Leagues in 2019. It looked like Thomas would become a key component of the Cardinals' outfield for years to come. But, the mix of injuries and severe regression in 2020 and 2021 left him without a starting job in the ever-changing outfield mix.

With a need for pitching at the deadline, patching the rotation with Jon Lester and J.A. Happ may not have been the most popular move, but it certainly worked to propel the Cardinals on a magical run to the Postseason. While those hopes were dashed quickly by the Dodgers in the Wildcard game, Lester was a key contributor in getting St. Louis to the playoff in the first place. However, giving up a future cornerstone outfielder to Washington for a rental veteran was far too costly.

Given everyday playing time in a much less intense environment, Lane Thomas was allowed to play through his struggles and has churned out a solid 111 OPS+ from 2021 to today in a Nationals uniform. Lane Thomas is again a case of the Cardinals failing to identify worthy outfield talent and providing an environment where players can thrive in the Majors. Due to his monster slump, Thomas would never pan out in St. Louis as they tried to contend for a playoff spot. Still, one has to question why outfielders consistently perform better elsewhere after leaving the Cardinals. Could the same happen with Dylan Carlson in the future?

In order to figure out how to sustain a consistent outfield core for future seasons, the Cardinals must look back upon its failure to develop its wealth of talent. With its current talent pool consisting of Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Dylan Carlson, and many more, they need to learn that lesson now to avoid more stories like this. Now, let's move on to the final failed Cardinals outfielder, though this time a failure for a different reason.

Trade 5: Boston Red Sox receive Tyler O'Neill. St. Louis Cardinals receive Nick Robertson and Victor Santos

Tyler O'Neill's time in St. Louis was extremely frustrating. The highs and lows ultimately resulted in a dramatic falling out between O'Neill, the Cardinals organization, and manager Oli Marmol. It was clear that O'Neill needed to go at the end of the 2023 season, but the return the Cardinals got was not substantial at all. I won't cover all the details of O'Neill's falling out with the organization, so to learn more, check out this video essay Josh Jacobs created for Dealin' the Cards.

When it was announced that O'Neill had been dealt for Red Sox relievers Nick Robertson and Victor Santos, it was clear that his value had hit rock bottom, and the Cardinals were never going to get much value in return. However, had the Cardinals front office been more discrete about how they handled O'Neill or if Oli Marmol and Tyler O'Neill's disagreements weren't as publicized as they had been, the Cardinals could've gotten significantly more out of an outfielder with a ceiling as high as O'Neill.

Sure, the injury history was concerning, but O'Neill's top-10 MVP finish in 2021 and tantalizing peripherals should have commanded more on the trade market. A fringe Major League reliever in Nick Robertson and a flyer prospect in Victor Santos would never be enough, but it's what the Cardinals had to settle for.

As long as O'Neill didn't get injured and miss significant time for the Red Sox, this trade was almost certainly going to reflect poorly upon the Cardinals. Despite a few injured list stints already, O'Neill has torn it up for the Red Sox so far, recording an .896 OPS and 146 OPS+. These are by far O'Neill's best offensive numbers since his 2021 campaign and the Red Sox are reaping the rewards of their gamble while the Cardinals still have not found outfield stability after many seasons of searching.