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He took a nice step forward in innings this past season, getting to a career-high 185 and making 30-plus starts for the first time. And he's only entering his age-27 season. He's often mentioned in trade speculation. Some thought the Yankees would get him last deadline. I like him and his upside.

At this rate they'll bring back neither, but I hear your point. Some trade buzz is noise. But it's a fact Tarasenko wanted out, and he's never publicly walked it back that he still does not want out. That reality can be corrosive to a team, even if a guy plays hard and plays well. He's not captain material, even if the Blues do move on from O'Reilly.

I think you're falling into a bit of a trap, and forgetting the Cardinals set their budget annually and that it is not set upon them. They are not a victim of their budget. They create it and can adjust it as they like when they choose to, and they do. Spending is too often only thought about in terms of free-agent buys. It can be that. Or it can be trades that bring on payroll. Money taken on can be used to decrease the prospect ask in trades, like it was in the cases of Goldschmidt and Arenado. The trade deadline offered a good reminder of how the Cardinals are not always looking at the options that are exhaustively discussed. They traded for a starter in Jordan Montgomery that few figured to be available, and made an unpredictable trade inside the division as well. The fact is the Cardinals have some specific needs -- catcher, swing-and-miss pitching and lineup protection for Goldschmidt and Arenado -- that are real needs. The front office has an increased line of spending to use in the best ways to attack those weaknesses. And fans can and should expect the money they pumped into the team to result in a better team because of it, as that's the arrangement that works really successfully for this team. If the front office can't find ways to attack the weaknesses regardless of the free-agent pool limitations, that's a problem.

Man, that's a tough one. I hear you. If Horn is not ready to play this season, considering how Cook has struggled at times, then what guarantees he's going to be ready next season? Nothing. You'd like to think Cook will return and improve, but if he feels like he's going to be bumped as starter next season, the transfer portal could be hard to ignore. Same for Horn -- if Eli goes hunting a transfer there this offseason. If Eli is going to go after transfer QBs, it would have to be a guy who can start immediately and has multiple years of eligibility left, because you could risk losing both Cook and Horn if you go that route. Everyone would feel better about the current setup if Horn could get his feet wet this season and show some good signs. Maybe he can do that during the New Mexico State game, opening up a true competition for next season. One more thing Drinkwitz has to consider: Year four, regardless of his extension, feels like the make or break season. Is he going to enter that season with a QB competition, or does he want a sure-thing starter? Can he get one in the portal if he tries? He tried last season and Mizzou whiffed on three guys. Tough spot.

There has been no impression that Horn is miffed because he's not playing. Cook is used to people writing him off and continues to prove, at least to Drinkwitz, that he's the best option to start every game. So he's not going to shy away from competition with Horn, I don't think. What could change the scenario would be if another transfer competitor was pursued, like last season. We often see QB arrivals from the portal lead to QB departures from the same team. How Eli plays his offseason QB cards is going to be interesting.

I like the potential of a Pederson fit. Did last season, too. He signed for just a little more than Dickerson, could have been used in the similar role, and had way better results.

Report I saw said $360,000. Nice chunk of change.

Depends on who is defining affordable. The Cardinals, or Quintana? He pitched well on a platform year that could set him up with a solid next contract, perhaps a multi-year deal, as the reward for betting on himself. There's no guarantee he pitches as well moving forward into his age-34 season as he did during his stretch with the Cardinals. And his track record suggests pretty strongly that he won't. Quintana, career-wise, has been a middle-rotation arm. The Cardinals have no shortage of those. If they're going to add more starters, they should prioritize top-end additions, especially after bringing back Wainwright, who is in the middle range. The Cardinals were not going to not bring back Wainwright if he wanted to come back. That could have closed the Quintana door.