The St. Louis Cardinals avoided a major catastrophe by not making this trade

Frankie Montas may miss the 2023 season after a terrible second half with the Yankees

According to recent reports, Montas may need surgery for the shoulder injury he had during the 2022 season, which would cause him to miss the entire 2023 season for New York. After giving up quite a bit of prospect capital, the Yankees may have made one of the worst trades in recent memory.

Had the Cardinals made this trade, they would not have acquired Jordan Montgomery, leaving them with a rotation of Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, Steven Matz, and probably Dakota Hudson now heading into 2023 after this news about Montas' shoulder. Not only that, but they'd be without multiple key prospects, leaving their farm system thinner if they wanted to go out and acquire a new starter.

For as frustrating as these "non-moves" can feel in the moment, in hindsight, they often end up being the right decisions. The Cardinals, more often than not, win the trades that they make. I see them being accused of prospect hoarding, which is a bit accurate at times, but I also think they tend to be wise in their decisions not to give up valuable assets. Should this deal or their whiff of a Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen for Marcell Ozuna trade prevent them from aggressively pursuing a starter in the near future? No, but it does go to show that the organization tends to make the right decisions when it comes to the trade market.