Cardinals Acquire Highly Intriguing Slugger From Cubs After Strong 2023 Season

St. Louis may have found a diamond in the rough

Scott Neville | Nov 7, 2023

Cardinals Acquire Highly Intriguing Slugger From Cubs After Strong 2023 Season /

In this story:

The St. Louis Cardinals are not waiting around to load up on talent this offseason.

There have been reports that the Cardinals will be aggressive early into the free agency period, which opened Monday afternoon. While those moves will be for major splashes, they made an under-the-radar move that could prove to be a steal.

St. Louis claimed infielder/outfielder Jared Young from their rival Chicago Cubs on Monday, the team announced.

The 28-year-old has limited big-league action but already has done some damage. He's hit .210 with seven extra-base hits including two home runs, eight RBIs and a .725 OPS in just 22 games for the Cubs between 2022 and 2023.

More importantly, Young hit .310 with 39 extra-base hits including 21 home runs, 72 RBIs and a .994 OPS in just 90 games for Triple-A Iowa last season.

Young has played every position except center field and catcher in his minor league career but has the most experience playing first base, third base and corner outfield.

Waiver claims aren't usually worth getting excited about but Young has a high upside that was absolutely worth taking a lottery ticket on. Having a versatile fielder with 20+ home run power while hitting for average would be a complete game-changer.

Young will certainly be a player to monitor in spring training and beyond.

More MLB: Cardinals Reportedly 'Want To Make An Aggressive Move Early' This Offseason

Published Nov 7, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu