There’s been a trend emerging in St. Louis for a few years now. It started mildly enough, enough so that a reasonable observer might consider the faint drumbeat to be nothing more than random noise. It has only increased since then, and now that drumbeat is deafening. Something is amiss in the Cardinals’ ability to properly value talent on the trade market and, to a lesser degree, the free agent market.
Chronologically, the time frame to review begins at the end of the 2015 season. The previous era (2012-2015) was mostly successful, featuring a few clear wins on the trade market.