The St. Louis Cardinals could fall victim to some horrible timing. Just a week after the Texas Rangers signed the top remaining infielder on the free agent market, Ian Desmond, the Cardinals announced that shortstop Jhonny Peralta could miss 2-3 months after suffering a potential ligament tear in his left thumb.
Without anyone of real substance to take over for Peralta at short, the Cardinals will find themselves looking to add an outside replacement in an obviously watered-down free-agent market.
While Jedd Gyorko could fill that role on a short-term basis, he started just 28 of a possible 364 games in three years with the San Diego Padres prior being traded to St. Louis during the winter. That's a less-than-ideal scenario for St. Louis.
Exterior options here include Everth Cabrera in free agency. Cabrera was an All-Star with the aforementioned Padres back in 2013. However, he's barely played in the Majors since, having to deal with a PED suspension in the process.
The trade market could make more sense for St. Louis here. Though, will the team want to trade away assets for someone like Erick Aybar or Ruben Tejada, neither of whom would be an upgrade over Gyorko at the plate?
These are the decisions that make Cards general manager John Mozeliak one of the best in the business. He is more than capable of handling this pretty big curve ball thrown the team's way in the lead up to the start of the regular season.