I think that rather than saying it was all about the money given to Fowler, perhaps the Cards were willing to give a real shot to one of the guys who were highly rated and hadn’t yet gotten a shot. The Cards have two guys who were or are top 50 prospects in O’Neill and Carlson. They have Bader, who’s shown an elite glove, even if the bat has been unsteady. They’ve got Thomas, who flashed some solid play in St Louis last year when he got to play. Edman looked solid in his time in the OF as well, so he’s an option if needed. They had to move three guys in Jmart, Arozarena and Garcia this off season, who probably could have been useful parts of the team in some way, just to declutter to the point they got.
So even though I sort of expected to see a signing like Calhoun or Dickerson to stabilize the outfield with some experience, I can see why they’d choose to go with the guys they have. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the outfield be O’Neill-Bader-Carlson by the end of the year and see it be one of the better outfields in the league for several years.