SEATTLE 鈥 A Cardinals fan growing up and a Cardinals draft pick when going pro, Zac Gallen was waiting for his connection flight, on his way home from a Cardinals pitching camp, when he got the call in December 2017 that rerouted his life.
Mesmerized by Mark McGwire鈥檚 home runs at the 1999 Home Run Derby at Fenway Park, Gallen started wear No. 25 because, 鈥淚 want to be that guy,鈥 and in 2016 he got to at least wear that jersey as the Cardinals鈥 third-round selection. He was headed back to New Jersey when his phone buzzed with word he鈥檇 been dealt to Miami.
In a defining trade for the Cardinals, their challenged model, and the talent leak from their organization at areas of current need, they traded two future aces, Gallen and Sandy Alcantara, with two other minor-leaguers to the Marlins for Marcell Ozuna, the cleanup hitter they craved to amplify their offense.
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It was, Gallen said, 鈥渁 whirlwind.鈥
鈥淎s much as I grew up a Cardinals fan, as much as I was their draft pick, they needed to fill a need with another type of player, and they needed to move me,鈥 Gallen said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the weird thing about being traded, you get this feeling 鈥 as much as it鈥檚 true or untrue 鈥 that you feel wanted by another team and unwanted by another team. I will find a slight in anything. So, yeah, I used it. I used it as motivation. Another thing I put on the bulletin board.鈥
He may need to take it down and replace it with a lineup from Tuesday鈥檚 93rd All-Star Game, the lineup that lists him as the National League鈥檚 starting pitcher.
What was, not what is
In large part because of their lousy, last-place first half, there is only one Cardinals representative at T-Mobile Park 鈥 Nolan Arenado will start at third and bat fifth for the NL 鈥 but there are many Cardinals reminders of what once was, not what is.
Gallen, a first-time All-Star, got the nod from NL manager Rob Thomson as his starter for 鈥渘umbers (that) just come off the page.鈥 Two of his teammates in the Cardinals鈥 organization at Class AA Springfield in 2017, outfielders Randy Arozarena and Adolis Garcia, dueled each other in the first round of the Home Run Derby on Monday night with Tampa Bay鈥檚 Arozarena advancing past Texas鈥 Garcia and making it all the way to the final round before falling just short to Toronto鈥檚 Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
In three trades the Cardinals made to first augment the outfield with slugger Ozuna and then streamline their crowded outfield by dealing sluggers, they currently have zero players they got on their major-league roster.
This year鈥檚 All-Star rosters and starting lineups have three.
Asking Gallen and AL starting outfielders Garcia and Arozarena during All-Star workouts on Monday about how leaving the Cardinals change their careers, the same word came up multiples time. It鈥檚 what they got in the trades that had the highest value.
鈥淚 appreciate the opportunity (Tampa Bay) gave me to play every day,鈥 Arozarena said, as translated by a team official. 鈥淚 feel like Tampa made a good trade. They鈥檙e giving me a lot of opportunity to show what I can do on the field, and I鈥檓 grateful for that.鈥
Said Garcia, in Spanish: 鈥淲hen I left (St. Louis) I really believed in myself and how much work I was going to put in and I鈥檓 grateful I had an opportunity.鈥
Garcia improved his plate discipline with Texas. Arozarena added weight and muscle with Tampa Bay.
Gallen picked up a changeup in Miami.
He was traded again, this time to Arizona for infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., and then got the currency of the realm for any young player: opportunity.
鈥淭here鈥檚 some truth to sometimes you鈥檝e got to go to a place where there鈥檚 opportunity for you to be able to play and develop,鈥 Gallen told the Post-Dispatch on the field at T-Mobile during batting practice. 鈥淭hat was a huge thing for me. (Arizona) traded their No. 1 prospect for me: 鈥榊ou鈥檙e our guy.鈥 That motivated me.鈥
As the Cardinals, 38-52 at the break and 11 games out of a playoff berth, consider their present predicament, past decisions that got them here can also inform their future.
Especially when it comes to player development and deployment.
Opportunity gap
Tanking teams, by definition, take the plunge into higher draft picks and then create opportunity for players to grow together into contenders, as the Orioles are doing. These teams also cycle through dozens of players looking for the ones who rise, or at least try to find the ones who rise. As a club that attempts to perpetually contend 鈥 鈥淐ardinals are not allowed to rebuild,鈥 said president of baseball operations John Mozeliak 鈥 the Cardinals attempt to balance the patience for development with the urgency of winning, of production.
It can create the opportunity gap.
In 2018, the Cardinals opted to double-down on defense, squeezing playing time from Arozarena and his lively bat in favor of Harrison Bader鈥檚 elite glove. A year later, Garcia slugged 32 homers with 96 RBIs at Class AAA Memphis but had a lot of swing-and-miss in his game, never got the promotion and the Cardinals decided they had a roster crunch. Rebuilding Texas was collecting right-handed power and sent cash to the Cardinals for Garcia. Would either of them have had a breakout if they remained blocked as a Cardinal? Examples of the Cardinals' ability to scout and identify talent are sprinkled throughout the majors, from spots on their current roster to Lane Thomas hitting .300 in Washington, but so are examples of talent thriving that the Cardinals couldn't nurture or couldn't find playing time to see what they're missing.
There was a gap between the opportunity the Cardinals offered and what several players could get elsewhere to improve, to release their ability.
How do the Cardinals avoid their model from being self-limiting?
鈥淲hen you don鈥檛 have to win, you can run the (auditions),鈥 Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 fly here. It never will. You鈥檙e going to lose some good players from time to time. Do you want to make a habit of that? No. You want to choose right. Sometimes you do miss. That鈥檚 part of the competitive landscape.鈥
The very thing the Cardinals have tried to avoid, however, they鈥檝e had foisted upon them this season. They have had to rely on a parade of young players. Rookie outfielder Jordan Walker is receiving the opportunity to blossom at the highest level, while pitcher Matthew Liberatore has had opportunity to start. The opportunity gap is closing, but because of the standings not their planning.
A dozen players on the 26-man roster, including all four outfielders, have fewer than three years of service time.
鈥淲hen you have those teams, those contending teams, there are maybe one or two spots open,鈥 said Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton on Monday at T-Mobile. 鈥淲ith us, there could be three spots on the field, two spots in the bullpen, two spots as a starter. There are more places for opportunity is the biggest thing. I think we can have a situation where we may give more opportunity and you have a little longer.鈥
He was asked if that helps a better player emerge.
鈥淚 think it brings out something good and bad,鈥 Shelton said. 鈥淭here is both sides of it. Sometimes that sense of urgency is good for a player and sometimes it鈥檚 not. It鈥檚 based on the individual.鈥
Common bonds
Garcia and Arozarena, both of whom grew up in Cuba, first met as Cardinals and were roommates and fast friends. Garcia is godfather to Arozarena鈥檚 daughter. Within a month of each other over the 2019-2020 season, they were both traded by the Cardinals. In 2020, Arozarena became a sensation for Tampa Bay, breaking postseason records once set by David Freese. In 2021, Garcia hit 31 home runs, was an All-Star, and finished fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.
Arozarena won.
With his opportunity, Arozarena added 15 pounds of muscle during 2020鈥檚 quarantine and 鈥渂ecause he always had a lot of talent,鈥 Garcia said, 鈥渉e got stronger and way better.鈥
鈥淚n Cuba, he showed he was a star player,鈥 Arozarena said in Spanish about Garcia. 鈥淎nd in St. Louis, honestly, they didn鈥檛 give him a whole lot of opportunity and thank God he found a team that gave him the opportunity. It鈥檚 not a secret for anyone that he鈥檚 had some incredible years with 30 home runs and more than 100 RBIs.鈥
The All-Star Game annually is sprinkled with what-if stories. Gallen could win the NL Cy Young Award this year, a year after Springfield teammate Alcantara did so for Miami. Contending with Garcia and Arozarena in the Derby on Monday night was White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr., a player the Cardinals did not stretch to sign out of Cuba. Imagine that outfield. The catcher the Cardinals elected not to trade for this past winter, Sean Murphy, is one of Atlanta鈥檚 galaxy of All-Stars. Cincinnati reaches the break in first place, and yet five former Reds pitchers were selected for this year鈥檚 All-Star Game, including Mariners ace Luis Castillo.
Arenado: 'There are pressures'
The Cardinals鈥 lone All-Star, Arenado, had a similar path to the All-Star Game as several of the former Cardinals prospects. The Rockies had a losing record in Arenado鈥檚 first four seasons with them, but they were moving from one core to the next one. They created opportunity, opportunity without the tax of expectation.
Arenado mentions this when talking with his young Cardinals teammates.
鈥淚 tell them all the time: I almost feel bad for you guys,鈥 Arenado said. 鈥淲hen I was in Colorado, I didn鈥檛 have all the expectations 鈥 the expectation wasn鈥檛 for me to make this thing right and win this division. I never looked at it like that. But now that they鈥檙e here, there are pressures. That鈥檚 also why I love this organization, because of those pressures of performing and having to win.
鈥淭heir expectation for us is one that not a lot of organizations have.鈥