3 mistakes Cardinals can’t afford to make this offseason
By Mark Powell
Cardinals shouldn’t miss out on Trevor Story
Before the start of the regular season, Story was expected to ink a large deal near the top of his free agent class, which contains any number of high-caliber shortstops. Yet, a subpar year has put that in question, as our Robert Murray reports:
"“This is complicated. Story won’t sign a contract anywhere near the $340-341 million deals that Fernando Tatis Jr. and Francisco Lindor signed earlier this year. He may not even sign a contract over $100 million considering that his numbers this season — .251/.329/.471 with 24 home runs and 75 RBI — were well below his career averages.”"
The Cardinals should have every opportunity to sign a player like Story. Not only is he Arenado’s former teammate — so they already have a comfortable relationship — but they can get him below market value.
The best solution would be to sign Story to a short-term prove it deal, with the hopes of him eventually outperforming that contract in search of another. This would give the Cardinals and Girsch a chance to ensure Story can adapt well to the St. Louis market, just as Arenado did, before signing him long-term.