Cardinals passing on Trevor Story, explained

Why would the St. Louis Cardinals pass on shortstop Trevor Story, especially on a potentially-affordable contract? 

The Cardinals have faith in Paul DeJong and Edmundo Sosa at the shortstop position. Essentially, that is why they’d be bold enough not to sign a former teammate of Nolan Arenado — previously with the Colorado Rockies.

Story is a tremendous talent coming off a down season. With MLB currently in a lockout, Story could be more inclined to take a prove-it contract in his age-29 season in hopes of signing a long-term deal next offseason. The 2022-23 offseason is also destined to have a weaker shortstop market, which plays to Story’s favor.

Cardinals: Why no interest in Trevor Story?

The following is per out own Robert Murray, who has the lowdown on why the Cardinals aren’t interested in bringing in an elite shortstop like Story:

"“The Cardinals are comfortable heading into the 2022 season with Paul DeJong and Edmundo Sosa as their shortstops. That’s a risk, of course, because DeJong averaged less than .200 last season (to be fair, he’s hit at least 19 home runs in each of his last four full seasons) and it’s unclear whether Sosa’s strong performance was an anomaly or a sign of things to come.”"

It’s a risk to stick with DeJong and Sosa, but particularly with the latter, the Cardinals want to see what they have in the 25-year-old.

Last season, Sosa slashed .271/.346/.389. The Cardinals would prefer that slugging percentage go up a tad next year, but considering Sosa played in 113 games last year, it’s enough of a sample size to consider him reliable at the position.

Not to mention, St. Louis invested in DeJong. He’s due to make $6 million last year, and is under contract (club options included) through 2026. It’s in their best interest for DeJong to work out.