Cardinals: 3 best moves of the offseason so far

After a quite Hot Stove season, the St. Louis Cardinals made huge splashes to solidify themselves as the favorites to win the NL Central. Here are their three best moves of the offseason so far.

In the early goings of the MLB Hot Stove season, things were awfully quiet in the NL Central division. At one point in January, the total amount of money spent among all five teams was a little over $4 million. All of a sudden, the organizations decided to start spending money!

The St. Louis Cardinals were probably the most active of the bunch and have emerged as the favorites to win the NL Central in 2021. Not only that, but you can see them representing the NL in the upcoming World Series. The fans turned from being pessimistic to optimistic in the span of one month.

Here are the three best moves the Cardinals made this offseason.

3. Re-signing Yadier Molina

The Cardinals avoided a major catastrophe this offseason. Once the 2020 campaign concluded, they announced that they declined the option on veteran catcher Yadier Molina’s contract. Thus, he became a free agent.

St. Louis looked to be in deep trouble, as there were multiple teams interested in his services. Teams like the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays were all linked to Molina this offseason. In fact, the latter team was the last known team remaining not named the Cardinals who were in contact with the 17-year veteran.

In the end, the Cardinals managed to bring Molina back on a one-year, $9 million deal. Considering how hard it is to get a quality catcher nowadays, the Cardinals made the right decision. Molina is consistent in the batters box and behind home plate, and losing him would have been a disaster for the Cardinals. Now, he gets one more season to make a push for his third World Series title.