Miles Mikolas, St. Louis Cardinals. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
This MLB offseason was among the most wild in recent history. Here are three moves that teams would already like to have back.
The MLB offseason provided some major twists and turns, perhaps none bigger than the Carlos Correa sweepstakes. He agreed to a $350 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, who then failed his physical hours before a press conference to introduce him. He quickly agreed to a $300+ million deal with the New York Mets, who also failed his physical.
Correa, of course, ultimately ended up with the Minnesota Twins. But that deal — and many others, especially Aaron Judge and Jacob deGrom — helped reshape baseball in 2023 and beyond.
Many of those deals have paid off. But there were some moves — and moves that weren’t made — that teams already would want to take back after a month into the regular season.
St. Louis Cardinals failing to add another starting pitcher
The St. Louis Cardinals are 10-19, their worst start in 50 years. They are 2-8 in their last 10 games and are in last place in the National League Central.
Some of the blame can be directed toward the Cardinals’ offense, which ranks 20th in runs scored (123). But a concern that could even be pinpointed in the offseason was their starting rotation, especially with Adam Wainwright in his 40s and question marks with Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz coming off injury.
Thus far, the Cardinals’ pitching staff ranks 17th in team ERA (4.45). Wainwright remains out with an injury. While Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery have pitched well, Miles Mikolas has struggled mightily, and has an ERA that’s approaching 8.
Already 10 games back in the NL Central, the Cardinals need to be proactive in addressing their starting pitching. If they wait any longer, the deficit could be too much for them to overcome — and could prompt difficult internal decisions about the direction of the franchise.