Don’t blame Cardinals for misleading Trevor Story hope

Trevor Story was linked to the St. Louis Cardinals, but the team was never seriously going to sign him.

If you were an MLB team in need of a shortstop, this was the offseason to go get one. Of course, fans who were not crazy about the positional situation on their favorite team, they had their eyes on the last remaining top-tier option on the open market — Trevor Story. It was revealed on Sunday, March 20, that Story was signing a six-year, $140 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.

St. Louis Cardinals fans that were bummed about the team not signing Story — don’t be. As Robert Murray of Redbird Rants writes, the Cardinals were never signing him, despite rumors linking the team to him.

Don’t blame Cardinals for misleading hope on Trevor Story

When it comes to St. Louis’ shortstop situation, the team is still going with Paul DeJong at the position. In 2022, the 28-year-old infielder is on the fifth-year of his six-year, $26 million contract with the Cardinals.

DeJong did show promise throughout his career, as he was the runner up for the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2017, finishing behind Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers. That, and DeJong made the All-Star team in 2019.

This past season, DeJong struggled at the plate, as he recorded a .197 batting average, a.674 OPS, 19 home runs and 45 RBI through 113 games. He did miss around a month of time last year due to a rib fracture.

Whether Cardinals fans agree or not with the team’s decision to not sign Story, they are giving DeJong another shot to make his case to be the team’s starting shortstop for the foreseeable future.