3 free agent contracts St. Louis Cardinals should’ve matched this offseason
By Kevin Henry
Contract that should have been matched by the St. Louis Cardinals: Michael Brantley
Among the three biggest decisions made by the Cardinals this offseason was their choice to keep all of their current outfielders rather than use one or more of them as a trade chip to land pitching depth. Certainly, there’s plenty of talent there with Lars Nootbaar, Dylan Carlson, and Tyler O’Neill (plus Jordan Walker waiting to make an impact in his rookie season), but could there have been a veteran option available that would have provided some insurance in the case of an injury or down season at the plate?
Of course, there were options available, including Michael Brantley, who signed a one-year, $12 million deal this offseason to return to the Houston Astros. The five-time All-Star has played parts of four seasons with the Astros, including last year when he slashed .288/.370/.416 in 277 plate appearances over 64 games.
Brantley was injured and didn’t get to play in last year’s World Series, so the hunger to get back to the Fall Classic and take the field is certainly there. So is the pedigree that Brantley has shown at the plate in the postseason during his 14-year career, putting up a .296/.357/.380 slash line in 239 pressure-filled at-bats.
With the Cardinals needing to find a way to advance deep into the postseason, having a bat like Brantley’s available when the lights of October get bright certainly might have made a difference.