Trevor Story looks unlikely to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals

Entering the offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers were viewed as the top two teams to get former Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story on the free agent market.

However, the Rangers signed both Corey Seager away from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Marcus Semien away from the Toronto Blue Jays and, reportedly, the Cardinals are not going to spend money on a free agent shortstop, like Trevor Story.

The St. Louis Cardinals are unlikely to sign Trevor Story

Katie Woo of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that the St. Louis Cardinals are not willing to spend enough money to nab a big free agent this offseason, including any of the big shortstops on the market, including Trevor Story.

The match between Trevor Story and the St. Louis Cardinals almost makes too much sense so, in the world of baseball, it’s not surprising to see that it may not happen because, oftentimes, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles in baseball.

Back in October, Trevor Story told Rox Pile five of the many things he was looking for in a team in free agency this offseason and the Cardinals check off every box.

As we examined in this article in December, the Cardinals check off the box for “geography.” Story is from Irving, Texas, which is a suburb of Dallas but the Rangers are out of the question now. The next closest teams are Kansas City (which doesn’t check off other boxes and they aren’t in the market for a shortstop upgrade) and St. Louis.

The Cardinals check off the “winning” and team “culture” and “environment” boxes. Story is also still very good friends with his former teammate, Cardinals’ third baseman Nolan Arenado and Story has said that, among others, he would consult with Arenado on his decision.

It should be noted, though, that back in October 2020, Mark Saxon of The Athletic thought that the Cardinals would not be acquiring Arenado any time soon. But that aged like milk in the middle of August in the Arizona desert when later that offseason, Arenado was indeed traded to the Cardinals.

In all likelihood, until the lockout ends (and depending on when it ends), we may not know what will happen with Trevor Story and, as always, things could change. It did for the Cardinals and Rockies before and the next time it happens won’t be the last.