The St. Louis Cardinals had a rough 2023 campaign, to say the least.

St. Louis entered the season with high expectations after a great 2022 season but failed to live up to them. The Cardinals had one of their worst seasons in recent memory and became one of the biggest sellers in baseball ahead of the trade deadline in response.

The Cardinals traded away starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty, then-reliever Jordan Hicks, and infielder Paul DeJong as the club looked for ways to shake up the organization.

Flaherty spent the first six-plus seasons of his career with St. Louis before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles and had an opportunity to face his former club on Tuesday and shined. The righty now pitches for the Detroit Tigers and had one of the best starts of his career on Tuesday and even became the first pitcher to strike out at least 14 Cardinals in 6 2/3 IP or less since 1901, according to the Belleville News-Democrats’ Jeff Jones.

“Cardinals (public relations) reports that Jack Flaherty is the first pitcher to strike out at least 14 Cardinals in 6 2/3 IP or less since 1901,” Jones said.

Flaherty showed flashes throughout his career in St. Louis but injuries significantly hampered his career. When he was healthy, he looked like the guy who pitched against the Cardinals on Tuesday but, he wasn’t always healthy.

St. Louis traded him away to recoup assets in a lost season. Flaherty was set to enter free agency and it was unclear if he would return. There were rumblings that the Cardinals could’ve reunited with Flaherty in free agency even after trading him but the club opted to move in a different direction. Did they make the right choice?