3 realities Cardinals fans need to accept and 1 fantasy that may yet come true
By Mark Powell
It’s been a tough season for the St. Louis Cardinals, but all may not be lost, as long as fans (and the front office) come to their senses.
Changes are coming in St. Louis, perhaps just not the ones that the Cards ought to make. As Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic laid out earlier this week, the quickest path back to competitive baseball for the Cardinals is either trading away some key members of their core in hopes of reloading in the seasons to come, or spending big in free agency/the trade market to fill some key holes on the roster.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals haven’t handed out a major free-agent contract beyond Willson Contreras (a modest $87.5 million, by today’s standards) since Matt Holliday, and routinely are on the wrong side of trades for starting pitching.
John Mozeliak has made it clear that the front office does not want to trade away core members of this team — such as a Paul Goldschmidt or Nolan Arenado — and he “would hope the Cardinals are not allowed to rebuild.” That’s a bold statement from the president of a team which sits in last place in the NL Central.
Cardinals must accept Adam Wainwright is on his last legs
If anything was made clear by the London Series, it’s that Adam Wainwright doesn’t have much left to give as a big-league pitcher. He’s two wins away from 200 on his career, which would be a tremendous milestone to reach in St. Louis. Yet, beyond that, why is Waino in this starting rotation?
If the Cardinals are serious about turning things around, or at least in seeing what they have from some of their young pitchers, then Wainwright is merely taking up a spot. Yes, he deserves better. Wainwright has been there for several Cards World Series runs. He’s one of the stars of his era. Sadly, this is just how the business works.
Wainwright, like so many before him, won’t go out on his own terms barring a remarkable turnaround.