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Cardinals: 3 reasons why not trading for Juan Soto was a wise decision
Juan Soto is a great player, but would have been a bad move for the Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals were in the thick of the biggest trade deadline rumors last year, as they were one of the main teams having conversations with the Washington Nationals about superstar Juan Soto before he was traded to the San Diego Padres.
The Cardinals from the beginning felt more like a hypothetical destination for Soto, rather than a true landing spot. But as the weeks went on, their name remained in conversations, and it because very apparent that a deal really could happen.
St. Louis hardly ever positions themselves to go after a player like Soto. He was going to require giving up a historic amount of prospect capital, and retaining him beyond 2024 was going to potentially take a record-setting contract as well.
This would have been a franchise-altering move for St. Louis, not only because of the kind of player Juan Soto is, but because of what it would have cost for the Cardinals to acquire a player of his stature.
While the Cardinals not getting a deal done for Soto felt extremely disappointing in the moment, I do believe it was actually in the best interest of the franchise for a multitude of reasons. While it feels weird saying the decision to not trade for a 24-year-old superstar was best for the club, you'll see what I mean as we get more into this.
Here are three reasons why I believe not trading for Juan Soto was the right move for the Cardinals.
The price to acquire Juan Soto was too much to pay
I broke this down a bit last week, but in the days following the 2022 trade deadline, a narrative built up that Dylan Carlson was the reason a trade for Juan Soto did not work out. While Carlson was certainly a part of the negotiations, the package would have been far more than the young outfielder.
Names like Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, Tink Hence, Nolan Gorman, and potentially more could have found themselves in that deal with Carlson to acquire Soto. The internet has a bad habit of armchair GMing major trades like this and saying "Just give them Carlson, DeJong, and whatever two or three prospects I don't believe in". That's not how trades work...unless you're the Colorado Rockies or Arizona Diamondbacks.
Seriously though, when you're talking about trades for superstars under team control, the packages it will take to acquire such a player will hurt (keep that in mind as you think about a potential move for an ace). Teams are not going to move on from elite talents for nothing, barring some weird front-office decisions.
In the case of Soto, the Cardinals would have had to basically wipe out most of their young talent for just his services. Yes, he's elite, but not worth that kind of package for St. Louis.
The Cardinals biggest need is pitching, not another bat
Just look at the Cardinals start of the 2023 season. Sure, they've had a few down games in their last few contests, but they are showing themselves to be one of the best lineups in all of baseball this season.
Their outfield has five great options in Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker, Tyler O'Neill, Alec Burleson, and Dylan Carlson. Nolan Gorman has cemented himself as a great DH option. Brendan Donovan continues to take his offensive game to the next level. Juan Yepez and Masyn Winn are down in Triple-A and could impact the club at any point this season.
The Cardinals have superstar bats in Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. They added a terrific third bat in Willson Contreras. These young bats are under team control for a long time and will lengthen the St. Louis lineup in such a way that there is no easy out in the lineup.
Of course, pairing the Cardinals' MVP candidates with Soto would have been insane to watch, but it probably would have left them with a great middle-of-the-order but weaker supporting cast. I'm not sure trading for Soto would have made their lineup that much better in the long term due to the assets they would have given up.
Trading for Juan Soto would have made it very difficult to upgrade pitching going forward
Everyone knows that the Cardinals need to improve their pitching, especially their rotation. In order to do that, the Cardinals will need both financial resources and trade assets to make these upgrades in the immediate future.
Had the Cardinals traded for Soto, they likely would have tied their hands up a bit to their current roster. I can almost guarantee they wouldn't have signed Willson Contreras, and they also would have little money to add to their staff. More resources would have had to go to filling out the roster, rather than letting their top prospects do that for them.
Speaking of those prospects, any of their young outfielders or top prospects will be needed to acquire a front-line starter at some point. If John Mozeliak and the company would have emptied out their prospect pool to bring in Soto, they would have been starting down large arbitration payments for at least the next two years, and if they wanted an extension, it would be massive.
Now, the Cardinals are in prime position to add pitching at both the trade deadline and in free agency this year, while still maintaining future roster flexibility and an elite lineup. I'm not sure that could have happened with Soto in the fold.
Looking back, would you have dealt Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, Dylan Carlson, and more for Juan Soto? Or would you have passed on the deal and kept flexibility as the Cardinals did?
Next. 2 trades the Cardinals could make for pitching. dark