ST. LOUIS – Just moments before Randy Arozarena and Adolis García kicked off Monday’s Home Run Derby with a head-to-head battle, ESPN made quite a jarring statement: “This is really a St. Louis Cardinals nightmare scenario.”
The one-time Cardinals prospects became close friends as teammates on several St. Louis minor league teams, though earned their first Home Run derby nods and All-Star selections away from the franchise. Arozarena even finished second place in the derby and just missed the championship title by a few home runs.
As for the team that originally recruited them, the St. Louis Cardinals parted ways with both prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. And many years later, the Cardinals face a rare fate of sending only one All-Star to the Midsummer Classic. That’s happened only four times in the 21st century.
Arozarena and García are the only players that slipped away from the Cardinals franchise to become All-Stars. Depending on interpretation, there are four players who fit the bill of guys who could be Cardinals right now, though are now All Stars elsewhere with four different franchises.
Who are these guys? And how did they get to their current destinations over the Cardinals? Let’s unpack.
Randy Arozarena
Randy Arozarena signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as an international free agent out of Cuba in 2016. He spent three seasons in the minor league system, building a unique craft of power and speed. He helped Triple-A Memphis win the Pacific Coast League title in 2018, taking co-MVP honors along with future Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman.
Arozarena earned his MLB call with St. Louis in August 2019. He performed well in limited action, hitting .300 with four runs scored and two stolen bases over 19 games. Arozarena earned a roster spot as a reserve outfielder for the 2019 postseason. After the Cardinals won, he even ended up live-streaming a wild celebration from former manager Mike Shildt that led to some criticism elsewhere around baseball.
Only a few months later, Arozarena was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. The deal consisted of him Jose Martinez and a first-round competitive balance pick heading to Tampa in exchange for Matthew Liberatore, catcher Edgardo Rodriguez and a second-round supplemental pick that the Cardinals later used on Tink Hence.
Since the trade, Randy has developed a knack for delivering in the spotlight. That started as recently as his first season in Tampa, when he hit a monstorus 10 home runs with a .362 batting average and almost single-handedly carried the Rays to their second World Series appearance.
Arozarena won the AL Rookie of the Year in the following season with 20 home runs, 69 RBI, 20 stolen bases, and a .269 batting average. He performed at a similar clip in 2022, then represented Mexico in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year to honor his family’s heritage. Arozarena is on pace for career bests in home runs, RBI and batting average.
Adolis García
Adolis García, like Arozarena, was given a chance with the St. Louis Cardinals out of Cuba, though initially as an international minor-league deal. In his first two minor-league seasons, 2017 and 2018, he showcased strong raw power between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis, averaging around 19 home runs and 68 RBIs over both years.
García was promoted to the MLB level in August 2018 for a desperate Cardinals team on the cusp of missing three straight postseasons. Unfortunately, he didn’t impress in his first big-league stint, only hitting .118 with no home runs and one RBI over 21 games. His stint was also ill-fated by falling down and running into a costly out at home plate in a game the Cardinals much needed to win against Milwaukee to keep dying playoff hopes alive.
The Cardinals missed the postseason by just three games that year, and it would be the last time García wore a St. Louis Cardinals uniform. He remained in the system in 2019 and even slugged 32 home runs that season, albeit with high strikeout rates and a .253 batting average.
In December 2019, the Cardinals designated García for assignment to bring on international pitcher Kwang-hyun Kim. At 26 years old, García was out of options and exposed to other teams via waivers. Just before Christmas, the Cardinals worked a trade with the Texas Rangers to move García for cash considerations. No other players or picks, just cash.
Texas called up García late in 2020, but he struggled a bit again in limited opportunities. The Rangers then, believe it or not, designated García for assignment in February 2021 for Mike Foltynewicz. Unclaimed his second time around, it was a learning experience that later paid off big for him and Texas.
García was selected for his next big-league opportunity in 2021 and never looked back. He averaged around 29 home runs and 98 RBI over his first two seasons, also slugging his way to an All-Star nod in 2021. He is currently on pace to shatter his career-bests in batting average, home runs and RBI, already leading the American League with 75 just halfway through the season. He also leads all players defensively with 10 outfield assists this season.
Zac Gallen
Zac Gallen was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third-round of the 2016 MLB Draft. He rose through the farm system relatively quickly, spending most of 2017 in Double-A Springfield and working up to Triple-A Memphis for a few starts at the end of the year. All in all, that season, he went 10-8 with a 2.93 ERA over 147.2 innings pitched.
Though decent results on paper, Gallen’s advanced results hinted he might not the standout pitcher scouts desired, particularly his low strikeout rate (7.3 per 9IP) and batting average against (.245). His time in the Cardinals’ minor-league system was short-lived.
In December 2017, a St. Louis Cardinals team desperate for a bat, plus one that missed out on reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton, acquired the next big slugger on the Marlins. Marcell Ozuna joined the Cardinals in a trade that sent Gallen, Sandy Alcantara, Magneuris Sierra and Daniel Castano to Miami.
The interesting thing looking back on the trade, Gallen wasn’t even considered the headliner or perhaps second-best player in the deal. Alcantara quickly became a regular in the Marlins rotation and won his first NL Cy Young Award last year. Sierra had some MLB experience with the Cardinals and also seemed like a valuable piece.
Gallen, a bit of an afterthought among that return, but he proved both the Cardinals and Marlins wrong later on. Miami traded him before the 2019 deadline for speedy infielder with similar upside in Jazz Chisholm Jr.
While moving Gallen looks slightly better for Miami than St. Louis, either team would love to have his bodywork in the rotation now. In three seasons with Arizona, Gallen has fared 33-25 with a 3.08 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. He also took pride in lowering his average against and stirkeout rates, at least compared to his time in the Cardinals farm.
The biggest gut punch of all, he is starting Tuesday’s All-Star Game for the National League. Ozuna only lasted two seasons with the Cardinals and now anchors the middle of a hot Atlanta Braves batting order.
Gallen, often considered outspoken by baseball media, did not hold back in a recent conversation about his Cardinals’ system departure. He claims the franchise sent him home from an offseason minor-league camp and traded him soon after for Ozuna, saying “they got their certain ways about how they go about things” in reference to St. Louis.
Luis Robert
Luis Robert Jr. is probably the biggest stretch in this edition of “what could’ve been” for the Cardinals, but there was once a time many thought he would end up in St. Louis. In the mid 2010s, the Cardinals had been aggressive in the MLB international pool with signings like Arozarena and García. Another outfielder, Luis Robert, was a coveted option, but it didn’t pan out.
In 2017, Robert defected from Cuba and became a free agent with the goods of raw power, perhaps even more so than Arozarena and García. A scouting team for the Cardinals, which included President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak and then-director of international operations Moises Rodriguez. Both even took time to meet Robert one-on-one and evaluate some workouts.
The Cardinals had strong ties to Robert, but one of the biggest factor in Robert’s decisions, having just defected from Cuba as a teenager, was a signing bonus. The Chicago White Sox offered him a deal with a $26 million signing bonus, one Robert took and used as motivation to reach the majors by 2020.
As for the Cardinals, some baseball officials believe the team nearing a limit for international free agent signings held them back from a more aggressive offer to ink Robert. St. Louis could’ve been in a position where they had to pay a dollar-for-dollar penalty on every dollar that exceeded the cap on international free agents. If they even matched Chicago’s $26 million bonus, they could’ve ended up paying $52 million for Robert’s goods.
According to a 2017 report from Viva El Birdos, Mozeliak said this on the Cardinals not completing a deal with Robert: “It’s really hard to justify those types of dollars for any player with a lack of a proven track record. No matter how you try to equate the Cuban league or his international experience, it’s very hard to calibrate what that means to here.”
Except, even if slowly and through some growing pains, Robert’s deal with the White Sox now looks like a no-brainer. Robert also participated in this year’s Home Run Derby, knocked out in the second round by Arozarena. His 26 home runs are better than anyone else in the American League not named Shohei Ohtani. Robert has delivered to a .284/.333/.569 slash line and provides steady defense in center field for Chicago.
Which one hurts the most between Arozarena, García, Gallen and Robert? There’s probably not one clear-cut answer, but it’s pretty evident all four would be a big boost for a Cardinals team treading near the NL cellar for most of the season, had their current contributions been in play for St. Louis.
You can catch all four All-Stars on Tuesday, including Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado, on the MLB All-Star Game. First pitch is set for around 7 p.m. CT and pregame coverage begins around 6 p.m. CT.
The MLB All-Star Game pits the National League against the American League at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The American League has won the last nine All-Star matchups dating back to 2013.