The Cardinals let go of the perfect answers to their greatest needs this past year

This is not a piece to complain about the St. Louis Cardinals trading away underperforming talent and those players finding success elsewhere. I just simply want to acknowledge how perfect of a fit both Jack Flaherty and Tyler O'Neill would be for this team right now.

As the Cardinals consider adding to their rotation before the trade deadline, Jack Flaherty is set to be the best rental arm on the market. If you have not kept up with Flaherty's performance this year, he's pitching like the guy who took St. Louis by storm in 2019.

At the time of writing this piece, Flaherty is an American League Cy Young Award candidate, posting a 2.95 ERA and 32% strikeout percentage in his 18 starts. Not only has Flaherty regained his elite swing-and-miss stuff, but his command is among the best in baseball this year as well, limiting walks with the best in the game.

While it sounds unlikely that the Cardinals would bring back Flaherty, he's the perfect fit for this rotation. Not only would he pair perfectly with Gray at the top of their rotation, but I think it's pretty clear he'd be the ace of this staff performance-wise. We've seen how dominant pitching can carry a team deep into October, and the duo of Flaherty and Gray could give the rest of the National League fits.

Well, for as fun as it is to dream about Flaherty returning to this Cardinal rotation, the offense needs to produce if they are going to have any chance of winning in the postseason. The club ranks top 5 in AVG vs. RHP as well as top 11 in OBP, SLG, wOBA, and wRC+, so that's good! But they are dreadful against lefties, ranking 29th vs. LHP in AVG, OBP, SLG, wOBA, and wRC+.

Because of this, the club is considering adding a right-handed bat, with the preference being one who can play some center field as well. Hmmm...I think I know a guy who fits the bill...

Tyler O'Neill.

No, he's not going to be traded with the Boston Red Sox making a run in the American League Wild Card Race, but once again, he is the perfect fit. On the year, O'Neill is slashing .267/.356/.535 with a 141 wRC+, just two points lower than his wRC+ from his top 10 MVP finish in 2021. On top of that, O'Neill is deadly vs. LHP, slashing .333/.450/.771 with a 210 wRC+ in 109 plate appearances.

There is not a single bat available at this trade deadline outside of Brent Rooker that could help the Cardinals' offensive woes like O'Neill can...and they gave him way for Nick Robertson and Victor Santos. Again, most people understood it at the time, so I'm not here to play Monday morning quarterback. It's just frustrating to see O'Neill become the player John Mozeliak joked he would be while the Cardinals' offense is painfully underperforming.

Do the Cardinals deserve criticism for two more names being added to what seems like a yearly tradition now of former players making headlines? Yes, they do. But that's a conversation for another day.

The Cardinals can't bring back O'Neill. They likely won't acquire Flaherty, but they should strongly consider doing so. These decisions they will make at this deadline will shape the Cardinals' ability to contend in 2024 and what this team looks like in the years to follow, and it is just a shame that their biggest holes could have been solved internally if things went differently with O'Neill and Flaherty.