Bernie: A closer look at Tommy Edman, the Cardinals and the trade that sent him to the Dodgers.

It will be fun to watch Tommy Edman in his first World Series game when the 2024 Fall Classic begins Friday night in Los Angeles. Dodgers and Yankees. Huge stars, huge treasuries, huge media markets, huge hype.

Oh, and Jack Flaherty will start Game 1 for LA. That will give some Cardinals fans have an opportunity to revise history and pretend they want St. Louis to keep Jack Flaherty — when in fact none of them thought that way in the summer of 2023. But this fakery only holds true if Flaherty wins the Yankees. When Jack endures a brutal flogging on Friday, the fraudsters among us will return to their usual stance: “I never liked that guy anyway.”

It's harmless.

I'm much more interested in Edman and will talk about him a little later. He doesn't fit into the predictably slow-moving narrative that takes shape in the lead-up to the first pitch. You know, it goes something like this: We see two store-bought teams that have paid their way to the postseason and are now going to try to close the deal to buy a World Series trophy. Baseball has become a romp for the rich. No beggars allowed.

The sport's highest level is the domain of teams willing to use their financial clout to crush smaller franchises under the weight of gold-plated Brinks trucks. Based on the total number of 40 players on both teams, this is the most expensive matchup in World Series history.

The Yankees finished second in the 40-man payroll and the Dodgers third. Combined, the two industry giants invested a total of nearly $667 million in player talent in 2024. Baseball's middle class has a tiny chance of winning it all. The low-paying baseball franchises might as well drop down to Triple A because the big prize is out of their reach.

Yes, well, a few things about it:

1. This is only New York's second World Series appearance in the last 16 seasons. The Yanks won the World Series in 2009 and had failed to reach the Finals for 15 straight seasons until this year. If it's so easy to pay an exorbitant price for a VIP pass to the World Series, why have the Yankees disappeared for so long?

2. The Dodgers can match or even surpass the Yankees in turnovers and wanton aggressiveness — but Dodger Blue hasn't won a World Series in a full, normal season since 1988. That's several decades.

3. Financial strength is a clear advantage, but not everything. If this exclusive baseball club is open only to the wealthiest membership applicants, then please explain this: Since the 2002 postseason, 14 different major league franchises have won the World Series… and 21 of the 30 teams have won at least a league pennant.

How can a club be considered ultra-exclusive when 70 percent of current MLB teams have been there in the last 23 seasons?

4. This will be only the second World Series in the last 23 postseasons consist of two top-five payroll teams. The other time was the Dodgers (No. 3) and Red Sox (No. 1) in 2018.

5. In the last seven postseasons before 2024, seven of the 14 World Series contenders have finished in the bottom half the MLB payroll. That's 50 percent! And the seven bottom-half payroll teams that advanced to the World Series had an average payroll rank of 21.

Now back to Edman…

Edman was traded to the Dodgers as part of a three-team deal that brought starter Erick Fedde and platoon bat Tommy Pham to St. Louis. The Cardinals were just two and a half games away from a wild card spot on the day of the trade, so the desire to improve the team was commendable.

After wrist surgery and several setbacks, Edman didn't pitch a single inning for the Cardinals in 2024 and wasn't able to make his Dodger debut until August 19. However, as one of the Dodgers' leading men under their care, he made a significant impact heading into the World Series. Los Angeles battled the Padres in a thrilling five-game divisional round series and then dispatched the Mets in a six-game NLCS series.

Edman was relatively quiet against San Diego (.235 average), but came into the Mets with a .407 average, .393 on-base percentage and .630 slugging percentage in 27 at-bats. Edman beat New York with 11 RBIs in the NLCS and was named series MVP.

For the postseason, Edman's 12 RBIs are tied with Mookie Betts and one more than Shohei Ohtani's 11. Wow.

After the Dodgers completed the deal for Edman, third base coach Dino Ebel received a call from a gentleman you've probably heard of: Albert Pujols. And Pujols didn't hold back in his assessment of the move.

“He said, 'You're going to love this guy because he's a baseball player,'” Ebel told the Los Angeles Times. “He can hit from both sides of the plate, he’s shown some power, he can play short, second and middle.

“He's fundamentally sound, he knows the routine game, he knows how to run the bases, he can bunt, he can hit-and-run, and he has the talent to play on a championship-caliber team and a World Series to win.” .”

We can be happy for Edman, who runs his business with joy and passion. He is a tough competitor. He doesn't back down. He strives to take on any challenge his team throws at him. Do you want him to play five or six different positions during a season? No problem. He has that. After his last season and a half with the Cardinals, the change has to be nice for Edman.

I can't blame any Cardinal fan for feeling tantrums and bouts of frustration as they witness another player leave the STL organization to find greater personal (and team) success in a new environment.

But I have no desire to become a member of the Redbird chapter of the Second Guesser Association. Not in Edman's case. There are many reasons to have legitimate criticism of St. Louis' front office, but this is not one of them. The Cardinals did the right thing. As previously mentioned, the Cards had a chance to make the playoffs at the time of the transaction and it is wrong to deny that.

The postseason fell out of reach because the offense averaged a measly 3.3 runs per game with a .234 average in a freeze that began on August 1, while losing 12 of 17 games. Edman wouldn't have made a difference, and Fedde is in place for 2025 – or he can (possibly) be replaced via a trade for a good return as the Cardinals begin their rebuilding phase.

Edman was not ready to play in early August and his delayed surgery and long absence scuppered the plan to use him as a starter in center field. It was the first thing to go wrong for the team in a season that ended far too soon – namely, no postseason for the second year in a row.

The Cardinals paid most of his $7 million salary for 2024. Edman will receive $9.5 million guaranteed in 2025 and can become a free agent after next season.

The Cardinals have a plethora of center fielders and/or utility types. These guys are already here and others will follow. The list includes Masyn Winn, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Thomas Saggese and JJ Wetherholt, the seventh overall selection in the 2024 draft.

Victor Scott II has the chance to win the starting position in midfield. The defensive work of Michael Siani is valuable – an excellent center fielder (and baserunner) who can play in any of the three outfield spots. And Chase Davis, just 21 years old, shone on offense last season in his second year as a professional. He was used in the middle of the youth team.

Any honest (and realistic) assessment would conclude this: Edman's time in St. Louis was coming to an end as roster turnover continues.

As a rookie in 2018, Edman was 22 percent above league average offensively, but from 2019 to 2023 his offense declined, finishing five percent below league average in three seasons.

In his final four active seasons in St. Louis, Edman was 10 percent below league average against right-handed hitters. This trend was unlikely to be permanently reversed; During the regular season, Edman had a .181 average and a .523 OPS for the Dodgers against right-handers.

One annoying aspect of Edman's move to Los Angeles is the local overreaction to his amazing NLCS. Everything – good or bad – is magnified and magnified in the postseason. I'm happy for Edman. Everyone should be happy for Edman. But that's about it. It's perfectly fine to mention all the STL players who have found success in their new home, but Edman's case is no reason to disparage the Cardinals.

Observers watch Edman beat the Mets for six games and automatically assume he would do something similar here…for months during the regular season. As always, large samples are more powerful and informative than small samples.

I'm amused (but not surprised) by the selective memories out there. Edman was a hitting machine against the Mets, and that certainly represented a dramatic contrast to the dormant offense the Cardinals dragged to the postseason from 2019-2022.

But in this respect too, I see no reason to revise history. Edman was part of those Cardinal teams. He had an excellent series against the Braves in the 2019 NLDS… and then… nothing. Or not much.

In the matchup against the Braves, Edman batted .316 with an OBP of .381 and a slug of .579 in five games. He had three doubles, a triple, scored three runs and drove in two runs. He had two hits, two RBIs and scored three runs in the winner-take-all Game 5, helping lead St. Louis to a 13-1 blowout. But after that, Edman went 7 for 39 (.180) in his final 10 postseason games as a Cardinal.

When you add it all up, Edman had a career .224/.274/.310 slash line in 15 postseason games for the Redbirds. He's better now, and that's enough. He gives Cardinals fans a reason to root for the Dodgers in this World Series.

With the Cardinals focused on the future, Edman wouldn't have been part of the next wave. So I will refuse to pretend otherwise.

Thanks for reading…

–Bernie

Inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023, Bernie has provided informed opinions and perspectives on St. Louis sports through his columns, radio shows and podcasts since 1985.

Please check out the new Bernie Miklasz Show channel on YouTube. And thank you for your subscription. Here is the link: @TheBernieShow

Statistics used in my baseball columns come from FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, Statcast, StatHead, Baseball Savant, Baseball Prospectus, Brooks Baseball Net and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise noted.

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