Latest Cardinals reunion miss is another failure they cannot afford

The St. Louis Cardinals got rid of the wrong players. I'm not sure how else to say it, as many of the same front office members are still in charge. The Cardinals had Michael Wacha under contract through the 2019 season. For the most part, he was excellent, and some St. Louis fans even thought he was their ace of the future.

That didn't turn out to be, though Wacha is ace-caliber elsewhere. In fact, it's not all that far away, as Wacha has thrived in both Boston and now Kansas City, where the Royals signed him to a three-year, $51 million extension on Sunday.

Wacha isn't the biggest move in MLB free agency – he technically could've still acted upon his player option and wasn't a free agent – but he will help solidify the Kansas City Royals rotation. The Royals took a huge step forward in 2024, and their pitching staff has a lot to do with that. Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo and Wacha are an excellent front-end.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Why did Michael Wacha leave the St. Louis Cardinals?

The Cardinals were never deemed threats to sign a pitcher of Wacha's caliber, even early this winter. Wacha left St. Louis voluntarily, signing with the New York Mets and then-GM Brodie Van Wagenen.

"He's got championship makeup," Van Wagenen said. "This is a guy that's pitched in postseason games. This is a guy that's been in an All-Star Game. … Michael Wacha fits into a lot of the categories we were seeking."

So, that didn't pan out. But Wacha eventually landed in Boston and then Kansas City, where he has reinvented himself as a pitcher. The Cardinals were always unlikely to bring Wacha back into the fold because it's unclear if they wanted to spend. Sure, a two-year, high-AAV offer might get the job done, but is it realistic for a franchise that is reinventing itself on the fly?

"I think we have to be prudent on how we think through some of this. But, I definitely think the type of payroll we were going to have last year (before trades) will look very similar this year," Mozeliak said after the Cardinals season ended, per John Denton of MLB.com.

That doesn't sound like a baseball operations department ready to throw a large sum of money at Wacha, whether it be short term or not.