If you think the Mets been making nightmare trades, check out the Cardinals

New York Mets fans are holding their breaths hoping Pete Crow-Armstrong doesn't become a Chicago Cubs legend. Years of seeing guys like Justin Turner excel only a year after letting them go has made it feel like no team has it worse than the Mets. Travis d’Arnaud really decided to become a very good major leaguer and win a World Series once he joined the Atlanta Braves? You gotta be kidding.

Worst of all, it's rare when the Mets are on the other side. How often have they truly benefited from someone else's table scraps?

As rough as it may be, the recent history of the Mets moving on from players prematurely doesn't compare to the woes of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals have had much worse luck than the Mets when it comes to seeing their exes thrive somewhere else

Randy Arozarena came from what felt like nowhere to help the Tampa Bay Rays win the 2020 American League Pennant and the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2021. He has been a fixture in their lineup ever since. He's only playing in Tampa Bay because the Cardinals sent him there. It came in a January 2020 trade that only furthers the narrative as to why you should never make a trade with the Rays. They somehow find a way to win most deals.

It doesn’t stop there for the Cardinals’ woes. Without a doubt, the 2017 trade for Marcell Ozuna continues to sting. Four players were sent to the Miami Marlins in that deal. One was 2022 NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara. Another was Zac Gallen who looks like he’ll take the award eventually. 

As if that wasn’t painful enough, Cardinals fans are now watching Adolis Garcia abolish baseballs for the Texas Rangers. He has quietly become one of the better power hitters in the American League over the last three seasons and capped it off with a 39 home run and 107 RBI performance in the regular season. Like Arozarena did in 2020, he happened to win the ALCS MVP Award, too. Garcia might be the worst of all because he was purchased away from the Cardinals by the Rangers. Exactly how are those cash considerations doing for St. Louis?

The Mets have had their share of flops in trades yet it’s hard to imagine anyone has been smacked around harder by the results than the Cardinals of late. As we sit and wait to see what guys like PCA, Endy Rodriguez, or even Carson Seymour become, the Cardinals are living the worst nightmare.