The St. Louis Cardinals were in on Juan Soto, according to GM John Mozeliak, but they were ultimately outbid by the Padres.

In an alternate universe, St. Louis is celebrating the arrival of Juan Soto.

In this one, Cardinals fans are left to wonder what might have been if their bid for the Nationals star had gone through.

That's all speculation of course. The only thing we know for sure is that the Cards did pursue a trade for the young All-Star. It just wasn't enough to sway Washington.

Cardinals confirm they were outbid by Padres for Juan Soto

General manager John Mozeliak confirmed that on Tuesday, telling reporters that negotiations were on up until Monday night. They weren't willing to meet Washington's demands.

You saw what they got in return, it was better than what we were willing to do, Mozeliak said via Katie Woo of The Athletic.

There was speculation that the Nationals wanted outfielder fielder Dylan Carlson in the deal. That may be the case but Mozeliak wanted to make it clear no one player was at the root of why things fell apart.

(Carlson) was by no means why we did not get this trade done, Mozeliak said.

The GM spoke to Carlson while the team was in Washington over the weekend and told him he wasn't going to be traded.

We won't be getting any details on exactly what the Cardinals had on the table or what it would have taken for them to come out victorious on deadline day.