December deals that gave us October feels
Yesterday at 09:00 AM
With Nolan Arenado trade talks expected to intensify at the Winter Meetings let's take a look back at recent Winter Meetings deals.
December 2017- Marcell Ozuna for Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, Magneuris Sierra, and Daniel Castano
Though most Cardinals fans sneer at this deal as a disaster (it has and continues to age poorly), at the time this was the most noteworthy trade for an offensive piece Mo and Co. orchestrated since Matt Holliday in 2009. Ozuna was a key offensive piece that helped lead the Cardinals to the NLCS in 2019. That season, Ozuna slashed .241/.328/.472 for an .800 OPS a 110 wRC+ and 2.1 fWAR. Though the Cardinals ultimately fell short of their ultimate goal of bringing the 12th championship in team history, Ozuna was an integral part in getting them as far as they did.
December 2015- Jedd Gyorko for Jon Jay
No, this trade didn't result in any postseason success, but it did provide the Cardinals with good regular season value, and it was executed at the Winter Meetings, and the Cardinals were out of the playoffs a collective of 4 days during that 3 season stretch? I'm changing the rules on this example (because I can mwhahahaha.) 2017 was Gyorko's finest one as a Redbird slashing .272/.341/.472 for an .813 OPS a 113 wRC+ and 3.6 fWAR! Again, with great power comes great irresponsibility and I exercised that fully in this example, mostly because I thought that 2017 was awesome and underrated, but I digress.
December 2005- Ray King for Larry Bigbie and Aaron Miles
Not exactly anyone's definition of impact contributor, utility-bench-bat and occasional reliever Aaron Miles did help the Cardinals achieve their 10th World Series Championship in 2006. In 471 PA in 2006, Miles slashed .263/.324./.347 for a .671 OPS and -0.6 fWAR. The numbers don't exactly represent his value off the bench and in other key situations. Larry Bigbie had little to no impact on that 2006 team before retiring after the 2007 season. Ray King had an okay 2006 season for Colorado and fought to hold on to his career at various stops until retiring in 2009.
December 2003- JD Drew and Eli Marrero for Jason Marquis, Ray King, and Adam Wainwright
Probably the most famous Winter Meetings trade the Cardinals have pulled off in the 2000s was the trade of former top prospect JD Drew and bat-first catcher Eli Marrero for Jason Marquis. Marquis was a member of the 2006 World Series champion team making 33 starts, pitching 194.1 IP going 14-16, and pitching to a 6.02 ERA. Much like modern day Miles Mikolas, the value was in the IP, not so much in the results of those innings. Ray King, for his part, was an absolute horse out of the pen making 163 relief appearances across his 2 seasons in St. Louis and posted a 2.61 ERA in '04 and 3.38 in '05 making him one of the more durable and effective relievers at that time and one of TLR's most trusted weapons. Then, of course, we have franchise giant Adam Wainwright making appearances across 18 MLB seasons amassing 200 career wins, pitching 2,668.1 IP, and striking out 2,202 batters. Also, not forgetting his patented curveball freezing Carlos Beltran for strike 3 to clinch the 2006 NLCS and forcing Brandon Inge to ground out to win the 2006 World Series.
These deals all represent various forms of trades trying to accomplish different things. With the likely departure of Nolan Arenado, with various reports indicating that talks will intensify at the Winter Meetings taking place in Dallas, Texas December 8th through the 11th, it's unlikely that this deal will result in immediate postseason success, but as we saw with a couple of recent Winter Meetings deals they could acquire a piece or two that may contribute to the next Cardinals contender. Other names of interest who are being speculated on is closer Ryan Helsley and left-handed swingman Steven Matz. The Cardinals could be the most willing trade partner for teams to talk to. One thing is for certain, were likely to hear a lot of buzz including Cardinals names over the next couple weeks. Buckle up Cardinals fans! Thanks for reading.
