St. Louis Cardinals: Possible trade options with Blue Jays

The St. Louis Cardinals have been attached to the potential of a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays.  Does this make sense?

I admit that when I first read the tweet by Jon Morosi linking the St. Louis Cardinals to the Toronto Blue Jays as potential trade partners (see the tweet below the fourth paragraph below), I was skeptical.  My skepticism faded a touch when I attended a Memphis Redbirds game last week and was greeted by several Blue Jay scouts.

Seeing scouts at minor league games is not something out of the ordinary.  Seeing Blue Jay scouts at a game a few days after a rumor tweet is released seems like too much of coincidence for this writer.  The question remains, however, if this pairing makes sense?

Let’s take a quick moment to examine where Morosi felt the link existed.  In his tweet, Morosi links the Blue Jays to the Cardinals thanks to the first base experiment of the Cardinals.  Morosi explicitly mentions Matt Adams and Brandon Moss as potential targets for the Blue Jays.

Do the Blue Jays need a left-handed first baseman?  According to the Jays’ depth chart, first base is manned by left-handed Justin Smoak (currently batting .189), right-handed Edwin Encarnacion (currently batting .250), and right-handed Matt Dominguez (currently batting .000 in 7 at-bats).  The Jays also had right-handed Chris Colabello manning first until he was suspended 80 games on April 22.

Before moving one, here’s a quick look at Morosi’s tweet linking the two teams:

In looking at the Jays’ existing first basemen, the likes of Adams and/or Moss- both left-handed- could fit into the need that exists for the Jays.  Adams, who hasn’t had the best year yet, is currently batting .244 in forty-five at-bats.  Moss, who is seemingly coming alive of late, is currently batting .226 in sixty-two at-bats.  These lefties could be what the Jays are seeking.

The existence of the scouts at the Redbirds game indicates to me that a straight one-for-one trade including Moss or Adams simply wouldn’t fly.  It seems that the Jays would want or need something more.  This, of course, depends on the ask from the Cardinals but let’s assume that the Jays had an additional need to address along with first base.

In this line of thinking, Morosi provides two additional interesting jewels that might shed some light on the existence of the scouts in Memphis:

Perhaps, based on these tweets and my seeing the scouts, the Jays could want or need an additional catcher?  Or perhaps the Jays were there to watch a reliever?

Let’s look at what Memphis might offer in each of these scenarios.  In the catching department, Mike Ohlman has been good of late and could be a very good backup catcher.  Ohlman is currently batting .255 in fifty-one at-bats.  Ohlman might have climbed as high as is possible in the Cardinals organization and could climb higher with the Jays.

In the Memphis pen, pitchers such as Ryan Sherriff might be of intense interest to the Jays.  Sherriff has appeared in 9.2 innings from the pen and owns a 1.86 ERA.  Could Sherriff find himself included in a deal with the Jays?

More from St Louis Cardinals Rumors

• The Cardinals would make a huge mistake signing these starting pitchers
• Cardinals: Trade proposals for rumored catcher targets
• St. Louis Cardinals linked to outfielder Kevin Kiermaier
• Cardinals: St. Louis still eyeing shortstop market despite recent reports
• Could the St. Louis Cardinals bring back Matt Carpenter?

Let’s transition to look and see what the Jays might have in which the Cardinals might have interest.  With weak performances from Adam Wainwright and Mike Leake, might the Cardinals ask for a starting right-handed pitcher to protect the rotation?  Or might the Cardinals ask for the left-handed first base slugger, Encarnacion (as is rumored by other bloggers)?

If we go with the thought of a starting-pitcher-ask, who might interest the Cardinals?  The righties in the rotation for the Jays include Marcus Stroman (4.37 ERA in five games), R.A. Dickey (6.75 ERA in five games), Marco Estrada (2.92 ERA in four games), and Aaron Sanchez (2.59 ERA in five games).  Could the Cardinals take a reclamation chance on Stroman or Dickey?  Would Estrada or Sanchez cost too much?

If we entertain the Encarnacion rumor, could he fit into the Cardinals first base depth?  To date, Edwin has smashed three home runs and accounted for fifteen RBI in his twenty-four hits.  Would he be a better fit for the birds with red feathers as opposed to the birds with blue feathers?

Next: Who’s hot, Who’s not, Memphis Edition

While I don’t have answers- yet- I do find that there might be a great deal of smoke here.  Is there fire?  Time will tell but I do find it interesting that there might be a fit here.  Follow me on Twitter and let’s keep our ears on the tracks for what might be coming!