There was a long list of disappointing teams in 2023. Two teams that come to mind first are the San Diego Padres and New York Mets. Another team that has a long and storied postseason history that had a rough season was the St. Louis Cardinals.
President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak and GM Mike Grisch have a very long offseason ahead of them in terms of building a competitive roster for next season. There are several needs that the Cardinals have if they want to compete next season in the National League Central, that will be wide open for any team to take control of.
The winter meetings are around the corner and it’s going to be an active week for a lot of teams in Nashville.
Here are three bold predictions for the St. Louis Cardinals at the MLB winter meetings
St. Louis Cardinals enter the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes
Mozeliak knows that this is a big offseason for the Cardinals and there are plenty of different avenues they could go to build a roster and you get the feeling that they are going to make a free-agent splash or two. There is no better way to make a splash by getting into the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes.
There going to plenty of suitors for Ohtani's services and it was recently reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox are expected to be in the mix. Why not the Cardinals?
Would St. Louis outbid those three teams or even a team like the New York Yankees? Probably not, but just getting into the conversation is a starter and who knows where the negotiations would go? Signing Ohtani would be signal a very quick turnaround in terms of competing for the Red Birds.