St. Louis Cardinals Trade Deadline Revisionist History
What if the 2020 headlines read: St. Louis Cardinals are Favorites to Represent National League (again) in 2020 World Series. What word(s) stands out in that headline? Those words aren’t all that uncommon, but combining “Cardinals” and “Favorites” and “2020 World Series” may be a bit surprising. How about that word in parenthesis “again”? We are stepping into a “what might have been” space for a few minutes. It’s an article from an alternate universe, one not too dissimilar from our current reality. We have the following article not-so-far-fetched article from that alternate reality where the St Louis Cardinals Trade Deadline had gone a little differently, rather than standing pat.
Following their somewhat surprising run to the NL pennant in 2019, punctuated by a thrilling 6-game NLCS versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, the hometown Cardinals are poised to make another deep run in the 2020 playoffs. After toiling in general mediocrity for the previous few seasons, this sudden resurgence to NL dominance can be directly traced to an exhilarating 15-minute window last July on an otherwise ordinary summer afternoon in the Gateway City.
Although he admits to not having known it at the time, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak and his club were unexpectedly grappling with an old foe, the Houston Astros, in what would foreshadow their October 2019 World Series matchup. These two clubs have a checkered past – recall the hacking issue that was put to rest by Commissioner Manfred just a few short years ago – but the long-standing rivalry is now settled only between the lines of the diamond, right? Not so fast!
We remember the rollercoaster summer of 2019 well: the Cardinals had a 41-41 record at the end of June, lost Marcell Ozuna to the IL with a pair of broken fingers, but then watched a resurgent Paul Goldschmidt place the team on his back in July and tie the Cubs for first place by the end of the month, slicing through their divisional rivals to the tune of a 20-7 record in August and September to win the Central division crown, and of course, there was that little deadline trade. Let’s review that day.
It’s the afternoon of July 31, 2019, and the news out of the Cardinals War Room is virtually non-existent. Despite the prognosticators agreeing the Cardinals would be buyers, there is little chatter of any firm deals in the works as 4:00 pm EDT looms. The deadline comes and still no news. Cardinals fans near and far begin questioning the sanity of the team leadership for not adding to the hottest team in the NL. At 5 minutes past the deadline, just as virtually all hope has passed, there is word of a blockbuster deal ready to be announced, a la the Justin Verlander deal of 2017. Fans thought, “Is this the one we’ve been waiting for?”
It is finally announced that the Cardinals agreed to send a package of prospects and cash considerations to the Diamondbacks for Zack Greinke , Eduardo Escobar and David Peralta. Fan rejoice as they begin to realize the magnitude of the deal. They add an ace starting pitcher that is so critical to post-season success and two quality everyday position players with a combined 4.0+ WAR.
The rest is well documented: Greinke assumed the throne of the Cardinal staff, Escobar became the everyday third baseman, allowing Matt Carpenter to thrive in his more natural utility role, Peralta shifted to right field with the team that originally drafted him as a pitcher and won his first gold glove, and the Cardinals won the NL pennant before taking the Astros to game 7.
Later that day, it comes out that the Cardinals beat out the Astros in obtaining the services of Greinke. The Astros were on the verge of another last-minute deal to add to their already stocked starting pitching staff. Can you imagine what almost occurred if Greinke had gone to Houston and joined Verlander and Gerrit Cole? Scary!
Coming back to reality, we know the Cardinals did not make this deal, or really any deal of significance, at the trade deadline. The Astros found a way to get it done and now have an embarrassment of riches on the bump heading into the final third of the season.While the Cardinals remain in the hunt for the NL Central title, they face an uphill climb to the NL pennant and one has to wonder what could have been…..
-Derek Favret
