As Major League Baseball clubs have sent a clear, chilling signal for what awaits free agents in the winter ahead and seeds the market for limited spending, the Cardinals can claim credit for one of the most obvious and richest options turned down in the past 48 hours.
No, not Kolten Wong.
That was just possible, not obvious.
Out in Arizona, among the players who had options declined by the Diamondbacks was pitcher Mike Leake. He had come to the end of the five-year, $80-million contract he signed with the Cardinals as a free agent a lifetime or seven ago.