The St. Louis Cardinals fell short in the NL Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, who are now two wins shy of winning their first World Series since 2008.
One of the many reasons the Phillies are where they are at this point is Bryce Harper, who has been clutch all postseason and came through again last night in Game 3.
When Harper was a free agent, many Cardinals fans were hoping that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak would try to lure him to St. Louis.
Of course, that didn’t work out, and on Twitter, one fan lamented the fact that St. Louis never even tried to land Harper.
Imagine if our front office went out and did everything in their power to bring Bryce to St. Louis… we might still be playing right now. The Phillies made a big investment and it’s paying off now. This is why you do whatever it takes to get generational talent… #STLCards https://t.co/KZyHmBs2sh
— Cards Convo ™ (@CardinalsConvo) November 2, 2022
What Might Have Been
This fan makes the argument that the Cardinals could still be playing if Mozeliak had chosen to pursue Harper, while also stressing the importance of pursuing top talent.
Granted, the Cardinals aren’t a team that typically signs mega-deals, but having Harper on their side would have helped them out.
In recent years, the Cardinals have opted not to pursue major free agents.
The most recent example is not pursuing Kyle Schwarber and instead signing Corey Dickerson to fill the need for a left-handed bat.
While not a bad signing, it wasn’t what the Cardinals truly needed.
With Schwarber in their lineup, things may have been different this year.
This offseason looks to be somewhat different though, as Mozeliak did say in his end of season presser that he planned on increasing payroll.
That could mean targeting some high-profile players.