Then this past offseason, three aces were available – Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander and Carlos Rodón. To a certain extent, you can understand the Cardinals’ reservations about all three guys. Rodón and deGrom come with considerable injury concerns. Signing Justin Verlander would mean having two 40-year-old pitchers in your rotation.

But there was also a stockpile of reliable, middle-of-the-rotation arms to be scooped up this winter. Chris Bassitt, Nathan Eovaldi, Jameson Taillon, hell even Noah Syndergaard were all available. The Cardinals didn’t pounce on any of them.

Which is fine, until your starting rotation begins the year the way it has.

Now you could also argue those mid-rotation arms don’t move the needle much more than someone like Steven Matz, who’s already on the team. And you might be right. But then, wouldn’t it make getting that top-tier arm THAT much more important?

This is why I suggested a couple weeks ago the Cardinals would finally unload their prospects for Corbin Burnes. But Milwaukee starting the season 10-5 and in first place really puts a damper on those trade talks, now doesn’t it?

Do the Cardinals really want to pay Shohei Ohtani half a billion dollars this winter? If they do, and the Angels are out of it by July, then surely the two teams would at least have a conversation about a trade. Then again, Angels owner Art Moreno has said several times he wants to keep Ohtani. So I wouldn’t necessarily call that promising.