Could the St. Louis Cardinals trade for Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price?

In a Saturday column on his ESPN Insider blog, senior writer Buster Olney wonders if the St. Louis Cardinals would make a deal for a pitcher such as David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Olney writes:

"The key question would be: If St. Louis actually sought a big-time starter, who would that be and would he be accessible? The Cubs would have to get a huge package in return to make a deal for Jeff Samardzija, and, although David Price would be a significant acquisition, would St. Louis deal for a pitcher who will be looking for a deal in the $140 million-plus range?"

The talk during the offseason was that if any team made a move for Price, it would be the Chicago Cubs. Don’t get me wrong, I like Price and think he would make a great addition to any staff, especially the Cardinals. But the question is, do the Cardinals go after a pitcher of his talent when they have so much talent coming up the pipeline (as Bernie Miklasz noted on Friday)? Is it worth making such an acquisition when Price would be looking for somewhere north of $130 million when he files as a free agent during the offseason?

Essentially, it comes down to whether or not the Cardinals would risk trading several players for Price only to potentially end up with a compensation draft pick in the end. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t make the move unless I was guaranteed that Price would resign with the team.