Could the St. Louis Cardinals trade for Jason Heyward or Marlon Byrd?

One of the names that came up before the trading deadline was Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. Despite the best wishes of a segment St. Louis Cardinals fans on Twitter, to take a line from Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Pitino, Stanton is not walking through that door. Don’t expect him to be joining the St. Louis Cardinals anytime soon.

With Stanton not available, let’s take a look at other outfielders available this Hot Stove season.

According to Atlanta Journal-Constitution beat writer David O’Brien, Atlanta Braves Braves president of baseball operations John Hart has made outfielder Jason Heyward available being that he is unlikely to sign a contract extension before filing as a free agent after next season. Would the Cardinals try and make a package move to get him?

The Braves are looking for starting pitching and young players to fill their farm system. The Cardinals certainly fit what they are looking for in a trade partner. With Heyward only having a year left on his contract, there’s no guarantee that the Cardinals would be able to re-sign him after the season.

Another outfielder not mentioned before is Marlon Byrd of the Philadelphia Phillies. He’s coming off of a season in which he hit .264/.312/.445 with 25 home runs and 85 RBI. Why he might not be a good fit is that he struck out 185 times. David Murphy gives the Cardinals a 3-1 chance at landing the outfielder. The outfielder is entering the second year of a two-year deal with a vesting option for the 2016 season. With such a deal, he could serve as a stopgap in right field for the Cardinals.

On the Andrew Miller front, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the left-handed reliever is looking to close although he may decide to sign with a team as a setup man. With a team enriched in tradition as the Cardinals are, would it be enough to entice Miller to sign with the club? We shall see.

Being that the Cardinals are unlikely to offer Pat Neshek a two-year deal, it’s unlikely that they will offer Miller the deal he is looking for. Jason Mastrodonato reports that the pitcher is looking for a four-year deal. The Cardinals would have to offer the pitcher a deal with an “astounding” average annual value to win his services.