photo: Tyler O’Neill (Michael McLoone/USA TODAY Sports)
The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Tyler O’Neill to Boston for pitching help and still look to fortify the bullpen. Our history future highlights four consecutive Cardinals playoff seasons from 2019-2022 under two different managers.
Tyler O’Neill dealt to Boston for pitching
In a move that most considered inevitable, the St. Louis Cardinals traded away outfielder Tyler O’Neill. In return, the Boston Red Sox sent two right-handed pitchers to St. Louis.
President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak signaled during the Winter Meetings in Nashville last week that the team was looking to trade O’Neill. Two days after the meetings ended, the deal was announced.
In return for the left fielder, the Cardinals acquired right-handed pitchers Nick Robertson and Victor Santos. Robertson, 25, is a reliever added to the team’s 40-man roster. He was the seventh-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2019 draft. The Dodgers traded Robertson to the Red Sox on July 25, 2023, for Enrique Hernandez. Robertson has pitched only 22 big league innings, having spent most of his professional career in the minor leagues.
The Dominican born Santos, age 23, was an international signing by the Phillies in 2016. He was traded to the Red Sox in July 2021. Santos last pitched for the Worcester Red Sox, Boston’s Triple-A affiliate, in 2022 before missing the entire 2023 season with an arm injury. He has made five starts in the Dominican Winter League in 2023 and will be assigned to the Memphis Redbirds to begin the 2024 season.
O’Neill played in only 72 games in 2023, missing the remaining time that season with various trips to the injured list. He was the subject of controversy early in the season when he was called out by manager Oli Marmol for lack of hustle. O’Neill publicly disputed Marmol’s assessment, leaving many to surmise that there was trouble brewing between player and manager. The team’s eagerness to trade the outfielder gives that supposition some credence.
Mozeliak has stated that the team’s starting outfield in 2024 will be Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker, and Tommy Edman. Dylan Carlson is to serve as fourth outfielder.
News and Notes for the Cardinals offseason
This section features offseason news items each week that do not require extensive coverage.
- The Cardinals acquired RHP Ryan Fernandez in the Major League phase of the December 6 Rule 5 draft. Fernandez, 25, was the 23rd round pick of Boston in the 2018 draft. In five seasons in Boston’s minor league system, Fernandez posted a record of 17-10 with an ERA of 3.33. Fernandez last pitched for the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate in 2023. He pitched 30 innings with a record of 3-3 and an ERA of 6.16.
The Cardinals must keep Fernandez on their active roster for the entire 2024 season (absent a legitimate injury). If the Cardinals wish to remove him, he must be placed on waivers and if he clears, he must then be offered back to the Red Sox. If the Red Sox decline, the Cardinals can then keep the player and send him to the minor leagues.
One year ago, the Cardinals’ Rule 5 pick was Wilking Rodriguez, drafted from the Yankees. The right-hander suffered a shoulder injury and never pitched in the 2023 season. The Yankees declined to take Rodriguez back and he was outrighted to the Memphis Redbirds.
- Yadier Molina has been named a Special Assistant to POBO John Mozeliak, a move that the former catcher disclosed the prior week. Since October, Molina had been in talks about a role with the club in 2024. It had been rumored that Molina would be named bench coach, but that position instead went to former Cardinal Daniel Descalso. Apparently, Molina, who has future MLB managerial aspirations, did not want to commit to a full-time role for family reasons. Therefore he was offered and accepted the more flexible special assistant assignment.
The position is an advisory one, though Molina will appear in uniform from time to time as a resource for manager Oli Marmol. It is believed he will also work with catchers Willson Contreras and Ivan Herrera.
- The 2024 Draft Lottery took place on Tuesday, December 5 during the Winter Meetings. The Cardinals had an 8.3% chance of receiving the first pick, but that went to the Cleveland Guardians instead. The Cardinals will have the seventh selection in the 2024 draft. That is one spot lower than their final record would have awarded them under the pre-lottery rules.
The last time the Cardinals picked in the top 10 of the draft was 1998, when they went fifth and chose outfielder J.D Drew. The Cardinals have never had the first pick.
St. Louis forfeited its second-round selection in 2024 due to the signing of free agent Sonny Gray.
- The annual Cardinals Winter Warm-Up is scheduled for January 13- 15, 2024. Details can be found at com/WWU . Autograph tickets will go on sale on Monday, December 11 at 12 noon CT. The autograph schedule can be found here.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
- The Cardinals did not have any transactions during the Winter Meetings. As indicated in this report, they did make a trade with the Boston Red Sox two days later. That trade sent outfielder Tyler O’Neill to Boston in return for pitchers Nick Robertson and Victor Santos.
- The team has indicated that it will likely add relief arms to the roster via free agency. The Cardinals have previously been linked to several free agent relievers, including Phil Maton, Yuki Matsui, and former Cardinal Jordan Hicks.
- Derrick Goold of the Post Dispatch tweeted that the Cardinals, in addition to Matsui, have discussed Korean reliever Woo Suk Go.
Transactions
- 12/6 The Cardinals selected RHP Ryan Fernandez in the Rule 5 draft.
- 12/8 The Cardinals traded LF Tyler O’Neill to the Boston Red Sox for RHP Nick Robertson and RHP Victor Santos.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
The Winter Meetings have concluded and the Cardinals made no trades or free agent signings. The team selected RHP Ryan Fernandez from the Boston Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft.
The first important date of 2024 is January 12, the deadline for teams and arbitration eligible players to submit salary figures. The Cardinals have four players who are arbitration eligible. They are Tommy Edman (2nd year), Dylan Carlson (1st year), Ryan Helsley (2nd year) and JoJo Romero (1st year).
As needed, arbitration hearings run from January 29 through February 16.
The Cardinals annual Winter Warm-Up begins on January 13. All the details can be found at Cardinals.com/WWU.
The 2024 international signing period begins on January 15. St. Louis’ budget was reduced by $500,000 for the signing of free agent Sonny Gray.
The 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame class will be announced on January 23 on MLB Network at 5 pm CT.
Blast from the Past
The Cardinals did not make the postseason in 2023. The reasons for that have already been hashed over and the historically bad season analyzed in every quarter. Now, the Blast from the Past makes a U-turn, and rather than bemoan the lost season, will celebrate those seasons in which the Cardinals did play in October.
This series looks at the Cardinals in the postseason by decade. The period from 1900-1920 was a tough two decades for the St. Louis franchise. It wasn’t until Sam Breadon purchased the Cardinals in 1917 that they began the ascent into the successful franchise it is today.
From 1920 until the present, the Cardinals made the postseason 32 times. In only two decades since then they have not made a single postseason appearance, the 1950s and the 1970s. In all other decades but one they have gone to the postseason multiple times.
The tenth and final installment in this series looks at the period 2019-2022. The Cardinals reached the playoffs all four years after enduring a three-year drought from 2016-2018.
In 2012, MLB introduced a second Wild Card in each league, expanding the playoffs to 10 teams. The restriction against Division rivals playing each other in the Division Series was lifted.
In 2022, the playoff format was changed again, adding a third Wild Card to each league and expanding to 12 teams.
The team was still owned by Bill DeWitt Jr. John Mozeliak was named President of Baseball Operations in 2017. The GM was technically Michael Girsch, but Mozeliak remained the primary decision maker. The Cardinals had two managers during this period, Mike Shildt and Oliver Marmol.
The 2019 Cardinals were managed by Shildt, the NL Manager of the Year. The team finished in first place in the NL Central with a record of 91-71, two games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The NL Wild Card teams were the Washington Nationals and the Brewers. The Nationals defeated the Brewers in the Wild Card game and advanced to the NLDS.
The Cardinals played the Braves in the NLDS. St. Louis took the series 3-2 thanks to a wild Game 5 in which they scored 10 runs in the first inning. The Cardinals won the game 13-1.
The NLCS pitted the Cardinals against the Nationals, which had defeated the Dodgers in the other NLDS series. It was the year for the Nationals, as they swept the Cardinals in four games and went on to win the World Series 4-3 over the Astros.
In 2020, the season was shortened to just 60 games due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To reduce travel, the teams played 10 games each against Division rivals and interleague games were against their instate rivals and AL opponents in the opposite division only (Cardinals played only AL Central teams).
The Cardinals finished in second place in the NL Central with a record of 30-28, three games back of the Cubs. The playoff format was 16 teams, consisting of all first and second place teams plus two wild card teams in each league.
The Cardinals played the San Diego Padres (second place in the NL West) in a three-game series. The Cardinals lost the series in three games. There were eight such series, called the Wild Card Series, four in each league.
The Cardinals returned to the postseason in 2021 (regular 162 game season) The owner, GM and manager were the same.
The 2021 Cardinals finished in second place in the NL Central with a record of 90-72, five games back of the Brewers. The Cardinals were an NL Wild Card team.
The Cardinals played the Dodgers in the NL Wild Card game (one off game). They lost to the Dodgers in a heartbreaking fashion. Chris Taylor hit a walk off two-run home run off Alex Reyes in the bottom of the ninth with the game tied 1-1.
The Cardinals’ most recent postseason appearance was in 2022. The owner and GM were the same. Manager Mike Shildt was fired on October 14, 2021 in a surprise move by POBO John Mozeliak. Mozeliak cited “philosophical differences” which have never been explained.
The Cardinals hired bench coach Oliver Marmol to manage the 2022 team.
The 2022 Cardinals finished the season in first place in the NL Central with a record of 93-69, seven games ahead of the Brewers.
The 2022 team was led by Albert Pujols, who returned to St. Louis for his final major league season. Pujols dazzled baseball by passing the 700 career home run mark. He hit his 700th home run at Dodger Stadium (the last team Pujols played for before returning to St. Louis). Pujols hit two home runs in that game, which was on September 23, 2022.
Adam Wainwright and the retiring Yadier Molina also set a record that season, breaking the MLB battery record with their 325th start together on September 14 against the Brewers at Busch Stadium.
The new playoff format consisted of two Wild Card Series. The six teams in each league were seeded. The Division winners with the two best records were seeded 1 and 2. The third Division winner was seeded 3. Three Wild Card teams were seeded 4, 5, and 6 based on record. First and second seeds received a bye. The third seed played the sixth seed and fourth and fifth seeds faced off in a three-game set.
The third seeded Cardinals played the sixth seeded Phillies in one of two NL Wild Card Series. St. Louis was swept in two games. The Phillies went on to lose to the Astros in the World Series.
Thus ended the Cardinals 2022 season and their most recent trip to the postseason. 2023 was a last-place disaster as we all know.
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