It was a bad one, maybe the second worst.
The worst (and among the top three bad deals in baseball history), being Steve Carlton for Rick Wise, because Gussie Busch's ego could not, handle Carlton's demands for a few extra thousand dollars.
Easily cost the Cards four post-season appearances. And, sorry to say, I don't know if the Mets win it all in ‘69 and ‘73 with a Bob Gibson/Steve Carlton dynamo powering the St. Louis Cardinals.
Well. I’ll defer to you regarding Cards history since I don’t follow them, but I still say Hernandez redefined the position. Living in New York most people tout Gehrig: none of them are old enough to have seen him play. All I know is before Hernandez firs-basemen stood there and waited for the throw. Keith was first to actively play the position.