Few seem to think the Cardinals have a legitimate chance to sign Manny Machado this offseason.
Or they should trade for Paul Goldschmidt. Or Nolan Arenado. Or that splash-maker no one saw being moved.
Or they should make it a surprise one-two punch of an offensive upgrade, like signing third baseman Eduardo Escobar and adding another player the general public has probably underestimated and overlooked.
You can study the analytics until you turn blue, but so much is still unpredictable.
Enough is known about Machado for the Cardinals to decide to spend their money elsewhere.