The St. Louis Cardinals have had a disappointing offseason from a fan perspective. Embarking on a rebuild under new front office leader Chaim Bloom, the Cardinals have traded away nearly a fifth of their major league roster, sending Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox, Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners.
And while the Cardinals have acquired several solid prospects, they are likely years away from being true contention. St. Louis has done almost nothing to help repair the big-league roster, bringing in only two major league free agents (Ryne Stanek and Dustin May).
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And speaking on the most recent episode of ‘Cardinal Territory,’ former St. Louis pitcher Lance Lynn said that St. Louis just isn’t really an appealing destination for veterans right now.
The ​problem ​that ​the ​Cardinals ​have ​right ​now ​is ​the ​person ​that ​they’re ​looking ​for…the ​guys ​are ​looking ​for ​every ​day ​at-​bats ​and ​this ​and ​that, ​where ​they ​can ​get ​opportunities ​to ​up ​their ​value ​not ​only ​for ​next ​year but ​also ​at ​the ​trade ​deadline. ​So ​it’s ​a ​weird ​little ​fit.
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To Lynn’s point, there are a few things going on. First, the Cardinals clearly want to save money this offseason. After all, the projected Opening Day payroll is less than $100 million for the first time in more than 15 years. That contributes to them not wanting to court veterans and it contributes to veterans not wanting to end up in St. Louis.
But even moreso than that, the Cardinals are not looking to block their young players. What veteran wants to sign in St. Louis knowing that they could be replaced by a younger player, hurting them both now and in the future? The answer? Not many.
As a result, the Cardinals will end up with a bunch of younger players and bounceback players looking for opportunity. Veterans like Austin Hays will look elsewhere, as he recently signed with the Chicago White Sox.
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The Cardinals haven’t been able to find a major league outfielder yet, something they’ve reportedly been searching for.
The Cardinals have 10 different players in the organization leaving for the World Baseball Classic, including O’Brien. Those absences could impact roster battles and positional standings. We covered more on the impact of the World Baseball Classic here.
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