5 trades the Cardinals likely wish they could do over

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.