The Cardinals weren’t long for the MLB playoffs, bowing out to the upstart Padres in a three-game Wild Card series. It was a frustrating way to go out for the Red Birds, who claimed a 7-4 victory in the opener before the “Slam Diego” offense erupted for a combined 15 runs in Games 2 and 3. What must be even more infuriating for St. Louis fans is seeing Randy Arozarena and Luke Voit, who both came up in the Cardinals’ farm system, enjoy breakout seasons for their respective clubs, one of which will advance to face Houston in the American League Championship Series.
A 22nd-round pick of the Cardinals in 2013, Voit joined the Yankees at the 2018 trade deadline, arriving in a swap that sent relievers Giovanny Gallegos and Chasen Shreve to St. Louis. Initially ticketed for a part-time role in the Bronx, Voit quickly asserted himself as the stronger half of a first-base platoon with Greg Bird, contributing a monster .333/.405/.689 batting line down the stretch in 2018. Voit could have let his foot off the gas, but instead he’s taken his game to new heights, this year leading all major-leaguers in home runs with 22.
Meanwhile, Arozarena, who some have taken to calling “The Cuban Mookie Betts,” has experienced a similarly meteoric rise in Tampa, exploding on the scene with seven homers and a blistering .641 slugging percentage since his call-up in late August. The 25-year-old has quickly emerged as the Rays’ alpha, tallying 12 hits including six for extra bases with eight runs scored in 24 at-bats this postseason (.500/.538/1.042). Arozarena’s hitless performance against the Yankees Thursday night snapped the outfielder’s three-game homer streak. Speaking of home runs, Voit belted one himself against the Rays in Game 4, launching a 453-foot rocket to left off opener Ryan Thompson.
In retrospect, the Cardinals did Voit and Arozarena a favor by trading them. Had he stayed in St. Louis, Voit likely would have been buried behind All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt while the same could probably be said of Arozarena in the outfield (especially with the Cardinals fast-tracking 2016 first-rounder Dylan Carlson). But in a lineup that didn’t show much pop—St. Louis’ regular-season home run total (51) was the lowest in MLB—it’s hard not to wonder where the Cards would be with Voit and Arozarena hitting in the middle of their order.
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