5 offseason moves the Cardinals need to make

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 15: Harrison Bader #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after they lost game four and the National League Championship Series to the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on October 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

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ST. LOUIS, MO – OCTOBER 12: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after striking out swinging during the first inning of Game 2 of the NLCS between the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Saturday, October 12, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

2. Keep Ozuna

The Cardinals traded a huge package of prospects to the Miami Marlins to acquire Marcell Ozuna for his final two seasons before free agency. At the time of the trade, Ozuna was coming off back-to-back All-Star seasons and had just won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove in left field after hitting .312/.376/.548 with 37 home runs and 124 RBI. Needless to say, high expectations followed him to St. Louis.

It’s not that Ozuna was terrible in his first two seasons with the Cardinals, but he was much closer to average than All-Star. He hit a combined .262/.327/.451 with 52 home runs and 177 RBI in 278 games. In an era where offensive numbers are spiking, it is troubling that Ozuna’s went the wrong way. He also showed a marked decline defensively.

Ozuna redeemed himself slightly in the playoffs by hitting .429 with three doubles and two home runs in the NLDS. The Cardinals don’t get through to the second round without his contributions, but he was not able to come up big again in the NLCS, hitting just .188 and striking out eight times in 16 at-bats.

With the season over, Ozuna was already thinking about free agency.

"“Right now, I would feel amazing if they brought me back, I would love it. I played for St. Louis for two years, and it was a good experience. The fans, I love the fans. I love everyone in St. Louis. It’s up to them.”"

It won’t be cheap for the Cardinals to retain Ozuna, but he is only 28 and two years removed from putting up legitimate MVP numbers. The first step is extending the qualifying offer, which Ozuna may be inclined to accept in an effort to boost his value with a better season in 2020.

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