3 Cardinals players we’re glad are gone, 2 we wish had stayed

2. Cardinals fans wish they saw more from Richie Palacios

The Cardinals made a midseason trade that flew under the radar when they acquired Richie Palacios from the Guardians in exchange for cash considerations. The Cardinals wanted additional depth and got it from the recently DFA'd Palacios.

While Palacios didn't show much in his lone season with the Guardians, he did produce offensively in limited action with the Cardinals. The 26-year-old appeared in only 32 games with the Redbirds but hit six home runs in 102 plate appearances, posting a .823 OPS and a 120 OPS+ in a Cardinals uniform. He did this while seeing time at all three outfield positions and even making an appearance at second base.

Palacios was flipped this offseason in a deal with the Rays that netted the Cardinals Andrew Kittredge. While that trade made a lot of sense, Cardinals fans still would've liked to see Palacios stick around potentially as a utility man off the bench.

The Cardinals happen to have an abundance of outfielders so losing him is not the biggest deal in the world, especially when they got a quality reliever out of it, but Palacios is still fairly young and did show something albeit in a relatively small sample. They'll miss him more if he continues to show positive progress on a team that seems to know how to get the most out of everyone in Tampa Bay.