Cardinals Reportedly Refused To Include Three Players In Potential Deal For Rising Star

St. Louis may have made a mistake this past offseason

The St. Louis Cardinals had a difficult season so far, to say the least. 

St. Louis entered the 2023 season expected to finish atop the National League Central standings and potentially compete for a World Series title this year, but things haven't gone as planned so far. The Cardinals currently are in last place in the National League with an abysmal 11-24 record.

One player who has made headlines lately, not for a positive reason, is catcher Willson Contreras. The three-time All-Star was the club's star offseason signing and yet St. Louis seems to be transitioning him away from the catching position and moving him toward being the team's everyday designated hitter. Contreras' recent situation has been extremely surprising and confusing and there's no end in sight. 

Although Contreras is a three-time All-Star and has been solid offensively so far this season, the club's catching situation is in flux. Before the Cardinals signed Contreras, there were rumblings that the team would trade for former Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy, but a deal didn't come to fruition. Apparently, one of the reasons why the two sides were unable to come to terms on a deal is because the Cardinals refused to include outfielder Lars Nootbaar, utility man Brandan Donovan, or pitcher Gordon Graceffo in a deal, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. 

"For Murphy, the At's asked the Cardinals for outfielder Lars Nootbaar, Gold Glove-winner Brendan Donovan, and power young pitcher like Gordon Graceffo, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch," Rosenthal said. "I later reported the A's wanter Nootbar or Donovan, plus Graceffo. The Cardinals were unwilling to trade any of those players and instead wanted the A's to choose two from a group of four consisting of outfielder Dylan Carlson, second baseman Nolan Gorman, outfielder Alex Burleson, and first baseman/outfielder Juan Yepez."

There's no way to go back and see how things would pan out and also the season still is young, but Murphy has shined so far this season for the Atlanta Braves and is an early candidate to take home the 2023 National League Most Valuable Player award. Murphy has slashed .282/.426/.621 to go along with a league-leading 1.048 OPS. The catcher has clubbed nine home runs and driven in 28 home runs so far this season in 31 games along with eight doubles while playing well defensively. 

Contreras seemingly has been solid, but his situation has been odd. Plus, Contreras ended up being the more expensive option of the two contract-wise. There's always a chance that Contreras turns things around and this is a small blip that quickly is forgotten. Hopefully, that ends up being the case and the Cardinals can turn things around shortly. 

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