Cardinals Reportedly Almost Traded Fan Favorite To Yankees In Summer Blockbuster

St. Louis might have made the right decision

Aug 14, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a New York Yankees hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals failed to make the playoffs for a second consecutive season but many seem to forget that they were postseason contenders at the trade deadline.

Around the time St. Louis initiated a three-way trade between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, the Cardinals were right in the mix for a National League Wild Card spot. They were still considered within striking distance of the Milwaukee Brewers for the top of the NL Central.

Sadly, that trade backfired on St. Louis after the club fell apart, finishing the year six games behind the last NL Wild Card spot. Even though the Cardinals got the short end of the stick in their summer blockbuster, at least they kept the New York Yankees out of the deal.

"Interestingly, the Yankees were the other main team reported in on (Tommy) Edman, and the rumor was that might have cost them Nestor Cortes," New York Post's Jon Heyman wrote Thursday.

Edman, who was recently crowned NL Championship Series MVP, was dealt from the Cardinals to the Dodgers over the summer in a trade that sent former Chicago White Sox veterans Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham to St. Louis while Los Angeles shipped a haul of prospects to the Windy City.

It's safe to say the Dodgers were the clear winner of the three-team trade with Pham no longer on the Cardinals and Fedde posting mediocre stats since joining St. Louis.

However, at least the Cardinals didn't end up with Yankees left-handed pitcher Cortes, who is battling through an elbow flexor injury that could sideline him for the entire 2025 season.

Either way, Cardinals fans likely would've had to watch former homegrown talent Edman thrive in the postseason, whether with the Yankees or Dodgers. Hopefully, future Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom will prevent the franchise's future from being jeopardized by short-sighted deals such as the blockbuster that took place over the summer.

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