What makes sense for Cardinals at trade deadline? Here are 12 pitchers
Seems like a simple question there in the headline, right? What makes sense for this team at this time? The answers may not be as simple as the question but there are plenty of logical ways to look at this...
For one, don't expect a high-end rental player. That's never really been the way the St. Louis Cardinals do things at the deadline and with a team that's .500 as I type these words a rental doesn't make much sense unless the cost is unrealistically low ... and that's not likely to be the case given that there is more demand than supply right now.
Players with team control will be extremely costly given that everyone is looking for those kinds of players and that there are more buyers than sellers.
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With those set as parameters, what makes sense for the Cards?
Offensively things have started to turn around. In July the Cardinals are a top 10 offense in MLB based on wOBA and they have the 12th best OPS as well. The team's three young outfielders, now healthy, are all performing and none of them are in line to be replaced or see reduced playing time moving forward. Tyler O'Neill, Harrison Bader and Dylan Carlson are going to start every day moving forward and that only changes if there are injuries.
The Cards are also set at 1B, 3B and C and they're also not going to bail on Paul DeJong at SS (who has been crushing in July as well). The only place they might have room to add is 2B where a platoon partner that hits RHP to pair with Tommy Edman would help but I get the sense the team wants to play it out with Edman and see what he does with a couple more months of at bats.
The bench could always use a boost, particularly another LH bat, and there may be some help out there. The logic of making a move would be based on the cost. It would be nice to have a left handed hitting OF that can pinch hit, play occasionally and serve as a replacement in case of injury.
So there are depth additions to the offense that could be helpful but the biggest area for improvement is on the pitching side.
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Like most other teams, the Cardinals are going to need innings the rest of the way. A lot of teams are concerned about pitchers hitting the wall in August and September because nobody played a full season in 2020 and I think that's a fair concern for the Cardinals, especially with the bullpen. The rotation might actually escape that problem because of time missed - Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas may not have to worry about such things if they return healthy soon. Still, an addition to the rotation wouldn't hurt. If Flaherty and Mikolas return ready to compete they, combined with Adam Wainwright and Kwang Hyun Kim, should be a big boost. Wade LeBlanc has done a nice job stabilizing the bottom of the rotation but it wouldn't be a bad thing to have someone else in the mix too.
The real need, however, is in the bullpen. Sure, Jordan Hicks might return to help out but that's an unknown and there are a lot of guys out there now that you wouldn't mind improving upon. Plus, relievers are generally quite available at this time of year. Maybe not lights-out closers but solid middle relievers can be found at reasonable prices.
Let's drop some names...
PLEASE NOTE: I am not saying these players are or have been connected to the Cardinals in trade rumors, this is just a list of relievers that could be available that could help the Cardinals down the stretch (and in some cases in 2022 as well). Most of them will be on other teams' radar as well. You will notice there aren't a lot of big names or stars in the group...
