The St. Louis Cardinals are set to rebuild under Chaim Bloom this offseason after missing the playoffs three straight years and going 78-84 to finish the 2025 season. But Monday marks an important anniversary in team history.

14 years ago, the Cardinals rallied from being down to their last strike twice to win Game 6 of the World Series and force Game 7. The hero in that game was St. Louis native David Freese, who tied the game with a triple in the ninth inning and won it with a walk-off home run in the 11th.

People may forget however, that Freese was acquired via trade in exchange for Jim Edmonds after the 2007 season.

Cardinals Should Use David Freese Trade As Rebuild Framework

Aug 17, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Former St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese and 2011 NLCS and World Series MVP throws out a first pitch prior to a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images / Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

Obviously, the Cardinals are going to make trades this offseason, and of course, no two deals are ever exactly the same. But when the Cardinals traded Edmonds for Freese, it came after their first losing season since 1999.

They were looking to deal aging veterans and make their team younger, centering it around the core of Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. But little did they know that this trade would help lead them to their 11th World Series title.

The main players on the block for St. Louis this offseason are Brendan Donovan, Sonny Gray and Nolan Arenado. They can get the most for Donovan, but if they sell high on him, perhaps they could land a top prospect or two, or potentially even more.

But it’s trades like these that can benefit teams years down the road. The Cardinals are a few years away from being true contenders again, and at the time of the Freese trade, they still were a few years away.

But that trade came with a high reward, as without Freese, the Cardinals likely wouldn’t have even been in the World Series in 2011. They certainly wouldn’t have the title without his heroics, and the famous trade ultimately led to a feel-good story about a player becoming a postseason hero for the team he grew up supporting.

It’s impossible to know who the Cardinals might land in trades, but Freese was a top prospect at the time, and it’s safe to say that he turned out pretty well for the Cardinals. That is what they should be looking for this offseason when they trade certain players.