Dylan Carlson is not the reason the Cardinals' did not trade for Juan Soto

Let's end the narrative that Dylan Carlson is why the Cardinals' did not trade for Juan Soto

It's time to do some confession and myth-busting today.

I was one of the people who originally got swept up in the "Dylan Carlson was the reason the St. Louis Cardinals did not trade for Juan Soto". You can read my quick piece I wrote instantly reacting to the news that the Padres acquired Soto here. At the time, reporting had indicated that the Cardinals' had the upper hand over the Padres and Dodgers in trade negotiations due to having one specific player: Dylan Carlson.

Most reporting you looked at indicated, before the deadline had passed, that Carlson was going to need to be a significant part of this package in order to get a deal done, and really wasn't any reporting naming any other players as "hang-ups" in any specific trade.

Before getting into some really good reporting done by Derrick Goold since the completion of the 2022 trade deadline, I think it's wise to look at the statement John Mozeliak put out just moments after the deadline when asked by reporters why a deal did not get done. You can watch the video here.

When pressed about why Carlson was not included in the package, he denied that the young outfielder was by any means the hangout in getting a deal done, and then pointed reporters to look at the package the Nationals got in return to see what their asking price was.

If you look at the package San Diego received, as well as Goold's reporting, you'll see what Mozeliak is getting at here.