Why the Cardinals missed out on the Juan Soto sweepstakes

The St. Louis Cardinals missed the Juan Soto Sweepstakes because of a player.

Juan Soto is on the way from the Washington Nationals to the San Diego Padres without meeting the St. Louis Cardinals along the way. As one of the favorites to land Soto, there’s a big reason St. Louis lost in the sweepstakes.

According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, Dylan Carlson is the reason.

Cardinals missed the Juan Soto Trade Sweepstakes by 1 player

Carlson, a 23-year-old outfielder who hits Switch, was a part the Nationals seemed to really want in any trade with the Cardinals. The bronze medal winner in last year’s NL Rookie of the Year race hasn’t exactly ripped the cover off the ball this year. After 330 trips to the plate, he only beats 0.250/0.318/0.405.

It’s interesting that the Cardinals would rather hold on to him than sell him and land Soto – an obvious upgrade. Of course, the trade would have involved a whole lot more. Carlson was apparently a little too much for St. Louis to agree to anything.

Carlson would have been a nice addition to the Nationals roster immediately following a potential deal. Instead, he’ll remain in St. Louis, where they’ll have to hope their other additions were good enough to give them a championship.

The Cardinals could always have bigger plans than just Soto. Their busy farm system and young major league players give them a lot of leverage over any blockbuster trade they might make in the near future. Shohei Ohtani would obviously be the next big target for her. You would have to wait until the off-season to complete this trade.

If Carlson was one player too many for the Cardinals to strike a deal, St. Louis may not be so lucky in future negotiations. Maybe they’re just hoping other bats, including Carlson’s, will wake up and give Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado a little extra help.

The Padres are all set for 2022. The Cardinals have a plan for the future. Who did it right?