I’ve had a column idea rolling around in my head for a while.
Hypothetically speaking, would Yankees fans and Cardinals fans be interested in a one-for-one trade that switched longtime Yankees baseball operations boss Brian Cashman with longtime Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak?
Right now would be a very unfair time to write that column, considering Cashman just traded for the sensational Juan Soto and followed it up with this quote.
“We’re here,†Cashman told Big Apple baseball reporters after the Soto deal finalized. “We’re in it to win it. That’s the messaging that is constantly being reinforced.â€
But wait, there’s more.
“It’s not going to be just him,†Cashman said about Soto.
“We’re in the market for pitching. Rotation. Bullpen. Combo. All of the above.â€
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But wait, there’s more, again.
“We certainly want to try to, under the Steinbrenner ownership, make this the Mecca of baseball,†Cashman said.
Like I said, now would be a really unfair time to write that Cashman-Mozeliak trade column. Like, really unfair. So, I’ll ask a different question instead.
Who gets back to the World Series first: Mozeliak’s Cardinals, or Cashman’s Yankees?
Cashman (February of 1998) and Mozeliak (October of 2007) are MLB’s longest-tenured leaders of baseball operations departments. Their success and longevity have drawn them closer over the years. The same can be said for their more recent struggles to deliver on their respective organization’s championship expectations.
The Yankees, winners of an MLB-best 27 World Series championships, haven’t played for commissioner Rob Manfred’s “piece of metal†since they won it all in 2009. Some context: They clinched that championship 10 days after Soto’s 11th birthday.
The Cardinals, winners of the National League record 11 World Series championships, have not appeared in the Fall Classic since 2013, and they have not won it since 2011. Former Cardinals closer Jason Motte, the last to throw a pitch for a championship-winning Cardinals team, spent this year’s winter meetings representing the Cardinals in the draft lottery after a 91-loss 2023 season secured the Cardinals their first top-10 draft pick in 25 years. His signature beard, still glorious, has grown gray.
Cashman’s Yankees now have as many missed postseasons (four) as American League Championship Series appearances (four ALCS losses, two of which were sweeps) in the past 12 years. Last season’s fourth-place finish, the second since 2016, kept the Yankees’ streak of 31 consecutive winning seasons rolling by just two wins (82-80). Since the Yankees last won the World Series (2010 to present) they have slipped out of baseball’s top five for postseason wins (31 postseason wins, sixth place.)
The Cardinals, remember, don’t have the Yankees’ revenues and payroll to play with. Some could be surprised at what moves Mozeliak might make if he was operating with a more aggressive budget from chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. Then again, the Yankees don’t have the so-often-soft division the Cardinals call home in the National League Central. Still the Cardinals were slipping before last season’s faceplant snapped their run of 15 consecutive winning seasons. Since their last World Series appearance (2014 to present) the Cardinals rank 16th in baseball — and eighth in the National League — in postseason wins (nine).
The Cardinals and Yankees have different ways of chasing the same thing, and the reality is, neither one has been very good at it for a while. The Rangers, Astros, Braves, Dodgers, Nationals, Red Sox, Cubs, Royals and Giants make nine teams to win a championship since the Cardinals or Yankees last did. Three of those teams (Astros, Giants and Red Sox) have won multiple rings during this span.
The “hard-hitting†New York media rushed to skyscraper rooftops to declare, “The Yankees are back!†I’ll wait.
“It’s not often you can say that one player can significantly impact a ball club, and increase their chances of winning a championship,†Yankees managing partner Hal Steinbrenner told The New York Post after snaring Soto. “You can say that in this case, however. For all the reasons that anyone who has followed his career knows, we are excited to have Juan in the Bronx.â€
Soto is a splendid player, but he’s only guaranteed to spend one season in pinstripes due to an expiring contract, and the Padres just learned firsthand last season that even pairing Soto with other stars doesn’t guarantee a ring. Now, if the Yankees get sensational Japanese free agent starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto as well, it could be time to dust off the Death Star references. We’ll see.
Meanwhile the Cardinals have added not one, not two, but three starting pitchers through free agency, but as prominent agent Scott Boras needled them during winter meetings, have left lingering questions about if any of the signings, including Sonny Gray, are capable of being a true No. 1 starter on a contending staff. The Cardinals are stiff-arming those doubts while focusing on a bullpen improvement project that included trading outfielder Tyler O’Neill on Friday for Red Sox reliever Nick Robertson. Not as thrilling. Perhaps more fulfilling — if they get it right. We’ll see.
One thing is certain. Two of baseball’s crown jewel teams have fanbases that are restless for championship contention after horrid seasons. The Cardinals should never be excused from this conversation. At last check, it was the Cardinals, not the Yankees, who built a massive replica of the Commissioner’s Trophy outside of their ballpark for fans to take selfies with.
This week, Cashman’s Yankees sounded more determined and seemed closer than Mozeliak’s Cardinals to lifting the real thing.