What if? 4 blockbuster trades the Cardinals almost made over the last two decades

Marvel Studios has a show titled What If. Within the animated show, viewers are taken on a journey through a series of events if one specific moment had been changed. For example, What if, instead of Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter had received the super-soldier serum?

The premise of the show takes minute moments in key characters' histories and twists them ever so slightly. The same can also be applied to baseball teams. What if the St. Louis Cardinals had done trades that they were reportedly very close to doing?

I am going to look at four trades today since the turn of the century that almost happened between the Cardinals and other franchises in baseball that surely would have made waves for the team's future. A lot of this will be speculation, as we can't predict the future, and we as humans certainly cannot predict the future of an alternate reality that is non-existent.

Without further ado, as Jeffrey Wright says, let us ponder What If?

What If: The Cardinals traded away a young prospect instead of a disgruntled veteran?

Very few players who are drafted after the first three or so rounds of the MLB Amateur Draft are remembered, and even fewer even make it to the majors. However, every once in a while a player does the impossible. For St. Louis Cardinals' lore, that player is Albert Pujols.

Pujols was drafted in the thirteenth round of the 1999 draft. He was a scrawny left fielder who could play corner infield, and it took 402 picks for his name to be called that day. Very few people, excluding one scout from Tampa Bay (great story), saw Albert's potential.

It took only one year of him playing professional baseball for other teams to take a liking to him. The slugging position player began drawing interest from the Montreal Expos in the 2000-2001 offseason. The Cardinals offered the Expos the choice between a veteran Fernando Tatis, who had begun wearing out his welcome, or an inexperienced but talented Albert Pujols.

The Expos chose Tatis along with reliever Britt Reames, and the Cardinals received Dustin Hernanson and Steve Kline in return. Fernando Tatis experienced a plethora of injuries, thus limiting him to only 208 games for Montreal. He slashed just .225/.305/.357, and the Expos didn't extend him another contract after the 2003 season.

Albert Pujols instead became one of the greatest Cardinals to ever don the Birds on the Bat. Had St. Louis traded him to Montreal, the Cardinals likely would be stuck with nine World Series trophies instead of eleven. Mark McGwire may have stayed through the remainder of his contract extension until 2004, and the Cardinals would have been spending money on an oft-injured player.

What If: the Cardinals traded away a budding ace for a superstar third baseman?

Before Nolan Arenado, there was Jedd Gyorko, Jhonny Peralta, Matt Carpenter, and Tommy Edman, a motley crew of sorts. St. Louis struggled to find a true third baseman in the late 2010's. In order to fix that need, St. Louis traded for Nolan Arenado in 2021

In an alternate universe, that trade may not have been possible because the Cardinals had already filled their third base vacancy with a former MVP. Reports indicate that the Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays were in talks to swap Jack Flaherty and Josh Donaldson back in the 2017-2018 offseason.

At the time, Flaherty was the team's #2 prospect and was ranked #38 in all of baseball. Alex Reyes, Dakota Hudson, and Jordan Hicks were all ascendant prospects, and the rotation was actually quite strong at the time. The team didn't need another high-end pitcher, but they did need a third baseman. Donaldson, an MVP as recently as 2015, would have filled that hole quite well.

While recent seasons prior to the 2018 season weren't as kind to Josh Donaldson, he was still one of the best third basemen in the league; he had a .277/.368/.511 slash line for his career after the 2017 season to go along with 174 home runs in just 831 games. Donaldson's bat was his calling card, but he was no slouch defensively at the hot corner.

If St. Louis would have traded Jack Flaherty before the 2018 season, they would have seen a fading Josh Donaldson at the plate for just one year due to his expiring contract. Donaldson played in only thirty-six games in the 2018 season due to various shoulder and calf injuries. In exchange, the Blue Jays would have gotten a very young, very talented, very controllable starting pitcher.

Jack Flaherty, through all of his injuries and frustrations, was a good starting pitcher during his tenure in St. Louis, particularly in 2019. If the Cardinals had traded him off before the 2018 season, we may not have been able to see Flaherty's masterful second half in 2019. I do suspect the Cardinals trade for Nolan Arenado down the road in this universe, as I don't expect they would have extended Donaldson after a miserable 2018 season. St. Louis could have even signed a veteran Mike Moustakas to fill Donaldson's absence the following offseason.

What If: St. Louis traded for a different Miami Marlins outfielder?

One of the most maligned trades in St. Louis Cardinals' history is the trade for Marcell Ozuna. The Cardinals sent a haul of prospects to Miami for the hard-hitting outfielder coming off the best season of his career. Pitchers Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, Daniel Castano and outfielder Magneuris Sierra were all sent to Miami for Marcell Ozuna.

Reports from the time indicate that the Cardinals initially had a deal in place to receive Giancarlo Stanton instead of Marcell Ozuna for the exact same package. Stanton activated his no-trade clause and declined this transfer to St. Louis. The Cardinals then re-positioned themselves and landed another outfielder from Miami in Marcell Ozuna.

Ozuna's time in St. Louis was relatively brief and exceptionally underwhelming. He was coming off a season in which he hit thirty-seven home runs with a .312 batting average and 124 RBIs. His defense was also above average given his strong arm; he accumulated two Outs Above Average in the 2017 season in left field. However, Ozuna never reached those heights again in St. Louis.

In this alternate timeline, the Cardinals still receive an injury-prone outfielder, but this time, Giancarlo Stanton lives up to the hype, at least offensively. Stanton played outfield primarily for just one season in New York after his trade, but he continued to hit well, especially in 2021. Honestly, either of these trades age poorly for the Cardinals, but at least Ozuna was relatively healthy compared to Giancarlo Stanton in 2018 and 2019.

In this alternate reality, Stanton's monster contract hampers the Cardinals financially, thus limiting their abilities to trade for Paul Goldschmidt the following season and Nolan Arenado in 2021. If St. Louis had traded for Giancarlo Stanton instead of Marcell Ozuna, the late 2010s and early 2020s would have been sorrowful. Financial limitations and a lack of pitching talent would have been devastating to watch. At least Marcell Ozuna was cheap and gone after two years.