St. Louis Cardinals: Way too early Trade Deadline Wish List

Who might the St. Louis Cardinals consider pursuing at the trade deadline a few short months from now? Here’s my super-early list of candidates I’d like to see.

This is my St. Louis Cardinals equivalent of that ridiculous Christmas wish list that the ten-year-old version of each of us once came up with. Even if you end up getting just one, you’re more than a happy camper.

I think each of these additions could bolster the Birds into a World Series contender, if you don’t consider them one already.

The “way too early” part is self-explanatory. Obviously, there is WAY too much to be settled with each of these trade partners to say whether any of these men listed would even be available in mid-to-late July.

What I attempted to do was compile my list of five guys, in contract years (for the most part), whom I think could be on their way out of town post-2016.

Assuming that each of these teams are in “sell-mode” at the deadline (a stretch in itself), I think that each guy could give the Cardinals an added dynamic, and could be afforded by exchanging cash and dipping into the always-strong St. Louis farm system.

Please keep these points in mind before calling me a crazy person. Do I expect these guys to be Cardinals come late-July? Not really.

But one can dream, right? I like to think so anyways.

Okay, rambling over.

On to the first one!

Next: A Power Threat Close to Pujols in His Prime

Edwin Encarnacion, 1B/DH, Toronto

Just three men have hit more home runs since 2010 than Edwin Encarnacion. That list includes a pair of future Hall-of-Famers in Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols. The other man, teammate Jose Bautista, could find his way into Cooperstown when all is said and done himself.

The past four seasons, only Chris Davis of the Orioles has more long balls (159) than Encarnacion (151) and only Miguel Cabrera (461) has driven in more runs than Edwin (423).

I mean, take a look at Encarnacion’s stat line from 2012-2015, in case you weren’t aware of how good this guy really is.

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There’s a jolt to the pedestrian first base production we’ve grown accustomed to.

This offseason, Encarnacion set an Opening Day deadline for all contract negotiations with the Blue Jays. Reportedly, Encarnacion turned down a two-year offer from Toronto, saying that he was looking for four-years-plus.

Assuming that those contract negotiations don’t spring back up out of the blue, it appears very likely that Encarnacion is headed for free agency following the 2016 season.

Now, Toronto is absolutely loaded with talent (at least offensively). They have the most-feared lineup in baseball, and there are World Series aspirations for those that call the Canadian province of Ontario their home.

But the Jays are a middling 10-11 to start the 2016 campaign, and they have a retooled Boston team along with the very talented Baltimore Orioles to deal with. I don’t think you can ever write off the Yankees, either.

Let’s just say that things don’t work out for the Jays over a full 162 like they did down the stretch last season.

Depending on their feelings about their chances of keeping Encarnacion and the rest of that core together, could they entertain the idea of making sure they get something for him, as opposed to nothing should he sign elsewhere in free agency?

Remember, they don’t look like they will be retaining Bautista’s services after this year, either.

Here’s the cool thing about a potential Encarnacion deal. The main argument against (and rightly so) is going to be that we would likely have to give up young talent for an aging slugger who’ll probably sign somewhere else after the season anyways.

But remember, the Cards got a pair of compensatory first-round picks for missing out on Jason Heyward and John Lackey this past winter.

Next: Let's Supe Up the Super Bullpen

Drew Storen, Right-Handed Reliever, Toronto

Long-time Washington Nationals late-innings man Drew Storen is having a little bit of trouble adjusting for American League hitters, at least over the small sample that has been the 2016 season.

In 7 2/3 innings thrown, Storen has allowed five earned runs to score on nine hits allowed. He has just a single save thus far, after saving 29 games in half a season of closer duties with the Nats in 2015, and he doesn’t figure to see many save opportunities with Roberto Osuna as Toronto’s primary closer.

Again, that trade target would only come available should the Jays fail to meet expectations this summer.

But, if they do, Storen is going to be in high demand. What’s the first thing a high payroll team looks to shed when they fall out of contention?

I’d say it has to be their $8.38 million setup man, who’ll hit free agency himself after season’s end.

Like Encarnacion, the Jays could get very proactive with Storen at the trade deadline if things don’t work out for the club.

What would Storen’s presence in St. Louis mean? Your answer: and absolutely loaded bullpen. Maybe too loaded…

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With Storen, you add a guy with a career 3.08 ERA and a guy that has spent seven years handling those high-leverage, late-innings situations.

You also get a guy with a career 1.42 ERA at Busch Stadium III and even more impressive, a combined 0.00 ERA over 11 innings thrown at Wrigley Field (Cubs) and PNC Park (Pirates).

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So, hypothetically, in that situation you could go Seung-Hwan Oh in the sixth. Follow up with Kevin Siegrist in the seventh. Hand it over to Storen in the eighth to set things up for Trevor Rosenthal in the ninth.

That rivals what the Kansas City Royals feature in their elite bullpen. In fact, I think that that bullpen would be even better.

We haven’t even mentioned roles for those like Jonathan Broxton, Matt Bowman, and Tyler Lyons. Seth Maness would probably be the odd man out in said situation, but I don’t think too many would have too difficult of a time moving on with that one.

Next: Added Outfield Depth with an all-around ballplayer

Mat Latos, Right-Handed Starter, Chicago White Sox

We saw plenty of Mat Latos in his three years with Cincinnati from 2012-2014. Despite the fact that Latos has now thrown for six different MLB clubs (five in the past three seasons), he’s still just 29-years-old.

Like the other guys on this list, Latos will be a free agent come season’s end.

Like the other guys on this list, I think that there is a pretty good chance that his club will be out of playoff contention in late-July, when you consider the division that they play in.

In St. Louis, what was our greatest strength in 2015 appears to be our biggest question mark through the first three weeks on 2016.

Starting pitching.

Adam Wainwright made some positive strides in his start against San Diego over the weekend, but he may never turn back into the Cy Young contender that we’ve grown used to him being.

Michael Wacha is always a “ball up in the zone” kind of day away from surrendering six or seven runs in a very quick period of time.

Mike Leake has been less-than-stellar in his first three regular season starts in St. Louis.

You always have to consider health with this group, too.

Waino missed virtually all of 2015. Carlos Martinez missed the 2015 postseason with shoulder issues. We know about Jaime Garcia’s extensive injury history, and Michael Wacha’s issues in 2014.

When it comes down to it, the piece that I think the Cardinals are going to need the most is going to be a frontline starter on that staff.

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Latos has managed a career 68-55 record in his six-year big league career, despite spending the vast majority of that time pitching for less than elite-level ball clubs.

So far in 2016, he’s off to a 4-0 start with a 0.74 ERA.

After coming over from the Angels (whom he threw all of 3 2/3 innings for last year), the White Sox are paying him just $3 million for his services.

Whoever signs Latos for 2017 and beyond will be paying much, much more than that.

The White Sox are in first place as things stand today, and a Wild Card berth is a real possibility for the south siders this year.

But if things don’t work out, and unless they anticipate ponying up what could be a nine-figure offer for Latos’ services into the extended future, they could look to move the LA import for young talent and cash.

Sonny Gray, Right-Handed Starter, Oakland

I have some pretty mixed feelings when I think about the scenario that would probably have to play out for the Cardinals to make a move for the 26-year-old Oakland ace.

The only way I see it, the club would pretty much have to determine that Waino’s window has closed as an impact starting arm for the team that he’s been instrumental to for the past decade.

That would be the sad part.

The neat part would be the prospects of picking up a 26-year-old stud who could step in alongside Martinez, Wacha, and one day (hopefully soon) Alex Reyes.

Now, Gray is the only one on this list that isn’t a to-be free agent at season’s end. In fact, he won’t be eligible for free agency until 2020.

This means a couple of different things.

First, that means that he is going to be way more expensive to pick up. He’s the future of that Oakland organization as much as anybody they’ve got, and with their payroll limitations, I have to imagine that they are going to be very stingy with any possibility of giving Gray up.

But, if you can work a deal for him, that means that you get three guaranteed years of his services before having to make a decision in his aged-29 season.

Adding Gray would mean solidifying the starting rotation for the foreseeable future, when you consider what that unit would look like.

I mean, look at what the guy has done so far in his early 20’s. Even pitching for a terrible Oakland squad last year, he still nearly won the AL Cy Young, finishing third behind Dallas Kuechel and David Price.

Gray just feels like a guy that would have a ton of success working with Yadier Molina in St. Louis. The price would be steep, but if managed properly, could mean adding an ace for at least the next three years at a relative bargain of a price, at least in terms of his annual salary.

Next: Cardinals Early Season Grade Card

So, what do you think, Cardinal fans? Have I gone completely bonkers here?

Who’d I miss? Who am I dead wrong about here?

Let me know what you think about my list in the comments or, as always, feel free to shoot me 140 characters of wisdom on twitter!