Let’s take a trip back a few years, to the offseason of 2016. The departure of long time St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holiday was imminent, and the front office was reeling from the loss of Jason Heyward and the struggles of Randal Grichuk.
On December 9, 2016, the St. Louis Cardinals seemingly addressed these issues by signing Dexter Fowler to a five-year, $82.5 million deal. Fowler was coming off a World Championship with the Cubs in a year where the outfielder was worth 4.1 WAR.
The signing was met with mixed reception.