See the rub? The Cardinals didn't want to spend money on Keuchel. They didn't want to spend prospects on better pitching help at the deadline. They didn't want to trade from their MLB roster. They didn't want to deal their top-two prospects, at least not together. They didn't want to deal Harrison Bader or Tyler O'Neill in a package for a rental.

That last part is perhaps the hardest to digest. I was not convinced Mets starter Zack Wheeler was the answer for this rotation, but the Cardinals' were interested in him. That means they thought he could help. And that idea stalled because the Mets wanted Bader or O'Neill in the package for the rental starter. Can't trade Carlson. Can't trade Bader or O'Neill. Dexter Fowler is under contract through 2021. Lane Thomas, Randy Arozarena, Adolis Garcia and other outfield prospects exist. Free agency exists as a way to sign outfielders. Trades in the future exist as a way to add outfielders. But Wheeler as a rental was not worth losing Bader or O'Neill?