The latest failure at the Cardinals’ reunion is another setback they can’t afford.

The St. Louis Cardinals got rid of the wrong players. I don’t know how else to say this since many of the same front office people are still in charge. The Cardinals had Michael Wacha under contract through the 2019 season. For the most part, he was great, and some St. Louis fans even considered him their future ace.

This did not happen, although Wacha is a top-notch player elsewhere. It’s actually not that far off, as Wacha has thrived both in Boston and now in Kansas City, where the Royals signed him to a three-year, $51 million extension on Sunday.

Wacha isn’t the biggest move in MLB free agency – he was still technically free to exercise his player option and wasn’t a free agent – but he would help bolster the Kansas City Royals’ rotation. The Royals have taken a huge step forward in 2024, and their pitching staff has a lot to do with it. Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo and Wacha are great front ends.

For more news and rumors, check out the work of MLB insider Robert Murray. Baseball Insiders Podcastsubscribe to Moonshotour weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the latest information leading up to the MLB offseason.

The Cardinals were never considered a threat to sign a pitcher of Wacha’s caliber, even earlier this winter. Wacha left St. Louis voluntarily, signing with the New York Mets and then-general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.

“He has a championship lineup,” Van Wagenen said. “He’s a guy who plays in postseason games. This is a guy who was an All-Star… Michael Wacha fits a lot of the categories we were looking for.”

So it didn’t work. But Wacha eventually ended up in Boston and then Kansas City, where he reinvented himself as a pitcher. The Cardinals were always unlikely to bring Wacha back into the fold because it’s unclear if they want to spend the money. Sure, a two-year, high-AAV offering could get the job done, but is that realistic for a franchise that’s reinventing itself on the fly?

“I think we have to be careful in how we think through some of these issues. But I definitely think the type of payroll we had last year (pre-trade) will look very similar this year,” Mozeliak said after the Cardinals game. the season is over, according to John Denton of MLB.com.

It doesn’t sound like baseball operations is willing to invest a large amount of money in Wacha, short-term or not.