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I don’t have a full grasp on all the legal ramifications and penalization possibilities, but it’s my understanding that St. �������Ƭ police have the authority to punish — via a ticket or a fine for first offenders — anyone who says the words “Randy Arozarena.”

He, of course, was the Cardinal prospect traded to Tampa Bay in January of 2020 … and in October of 2020 hit 10 homers in 77 at-bats, as he won the ALCS MVP and the Rays won the pennant. Oh, and the next year, he won Rookie of the Year. And proceeded to become an All-Star.

For years, Arozarena was the offensive version of the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara — a player St. �������Ƭ traded, only to flirt with stardom elsewhere.

But now, a half-decade since the trade, the Cardinals are finally seeing a return on the deal — because Matthew Liberatore is dealin’. Now 25, the pitching prospect received in the Randy Arozarena trade is flourishing in, what should be, his first full year as a starter (Libby pitched out of the pen last year in 54 games, compiling a 3.69 ERA as a reliever). Liberatore enters his start Saturday at Busch Stadium with a 2.92 ERA in his nine starts. In 52 ½ innings, Liberatore has 47 strikeouts … and only eight walks. For this young club, Liberatore has been splendid.

Which leads to the looming question — can the Cardinals, someday, end up actually winning the Randy Arozarena trade? Or, at least, “tie” the trade?

I personally don’t think so — we’ll break it down in a moment — but it’s a fun debate to have. Actually, Arozarena was traded in 2024 at the deadline to Seattle for two prospects. So, his Tampa legacy lives on in them, but his Tampa resume is written. He played within five seasons for the Rays, including three full ones, and he finished with a .786 on-base plus slugging percentage, while compiling an 11.7 WAR on Baseball Reference. In 568 games, he hit 85 homers and stole 94 bases. And Tampa made the playoffs in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

For Liberatore to match this regular-season production — it would take probably more than four strong seasons to reach the 11.7 WAR (after some failings in St. �������Ƭ, he entered 2025 with a minus-0.5 WAR; so far this season, he’s at 1.1). But there is optimism, if anything, that Liberatore can be a rotation pitcher for years to come. This doesn’t look like a fluke, especially because he pitched so assertively in spring training and has now found ways to neutralize right-handed hitters (last year, righties had an .824 OPS against him, while this year, righties have a .587 OPS).

“I would bet on him being able to sustain success …” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “It’s a matter of giving him an opportunity to show what he’s capable of as a starter. And all you can do is give the opportunity — like, it’s on him, to run with it or not. He’s ran with it and shown that he can be very good starter at this level. He’s going to have the ups and downs, but his mentality overall — competitive nature, adjustability, knowledge of what he does well — is pretty elite.”

Again, Saturday is just start No. 10 of the “first season” of this potential run for Liberatore. I don’t want to put the cart in front of the Clydesdales. But it’s quite exciting to see one of the good guys rise — he’s a likable young man with sharp perspective … and a sharp sinker.

“He seems to be,” said fellow St. �������Ƭ starter Erick Fedde, “ahead of his time (as a young pitcher) in the sense of — feeling of his mechanics and understanding of his pitch repertoire. You know, for a young guy to go out there and command five pitches is very rare. And that’s something that obviously has led to his success. So it’s been great to see him have feel for all of those.

“I’m a big believer that when you have the more tools to get people out, things can be very good. He throws hard, which is another thing that’s awesome. So to throw hard and command five pitches is very, very impressive. And I think it’s been fun to see him grow on the mental side, and you know how he’s scouting and developing — I think he’s taking big strides.”

But to win the Arozarena trade — and not just “tie” it — will be difficult, because Randy will always have October of 2020. During that shortened season, he hit seven regular-season homers in 64 at-bats … and the improbable 10 homers in the playoffs. Three came in the ALDS against the Yankees in the “Randy-versus-Goliath” series which Tampa Bay won. Then in the famed ALCS against Houston, he hit .321 in the seven-game series with four homers and a 1.152 OPS.

And he hit three more homers in the six-game World Series, which the Rays lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

So he basically carried an offense to the fall classic. That’s some legendary stuff. Hard to give a WAR to that, but it’s sure worth a bunch.

Naturally, the good news is that we’re even having this conversation. Before this season started, the Randy Arozarena trade still stung in St. �������Ƭ. But with each Liberatore start, the lefty’s success surely feels liberating.