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

Josh Reddick, Outfielder, Oakland
Well, I guess we can take a break from gutting Toronto (not intentional) and see if Billy Beane will do something silly for us.
Josh Reddick isn’t a superstar talent in right field for Oakland. He wouldn’t have near the offensive impact that an Edwin Encarnacion undoubtedly would.
In the 29-year-old’s peak season with Oakland in 2012, Reddick slugged 32 long balls, 11 more than former teammate and current Cardinal Brandon Moss.
The problem: he struck out 151 times that season.
Year | Age | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ | HBP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | 22 | BOS | 27 | 62 | 59 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 17 | .169 | .210 | .339 | .549 | 38 | 1 |
2010 | 23 | BOS | 29 | 63 | 62 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 15 | .194 | .206 | .323 | .529 | 39 | 0 |
2011 | 24 | BOS | 87 | 278 | 254 | 41 | 71 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 28 | 1 | 19 | 50 | .280 | .327 | .457 | .784 | 109 | 1 |
2012 | 25 | OAK | 156 | 673 | 611 | 85 | 148 | 29 | 5 | 32 | 85 | 11 | 55 | 151 | .242 | .305 | .463 | .768 | 112 | 2 |
2013 | 26 | OAK | 114 | 441 | 385 | 54 | 87 | 19 | 2 | 12 | 56 | 9 | 46 | 86 | .226 | .307 | .379 | .686 | 91 | 2 |
2014 | 27 | OAK | 109 | 396 | 363 | 53 | 96 | 16 | 7 | 12 | 54 | 1 | 28 | 63 | .264 | .316 | .446 | .763 | 116 | 1 |
2015 | 28 | OAK | 149 | 582 | 526 | 67 | 143 | 25 | 4 | 20 | 77 | 10 | 49 | 65 | .272 | .333 | .449 | .781 | 113 | 0 |
2016 | 29 | OAK | 18 | 74 | 64 | 8 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 11 | .250 | .338 | .484 | .822 | 132 | 0 |
8 Yrs | 689 | 2569 | 2324 | 318 | 583 | 117 | 22 | 90 | 320 | 34 | 209 | 458 | .251 | .312 | .436 | .748 | 106 | 7 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Reddick’s offensive numbers are eerily similar to Moss’ in his career in terms of slash numbers as well as walk and strikeout rates.
He does provide gold glove defensive potential, though, something that Moss certainly does not.
I look at Reddick more as a “first choice if needed” option as opposed to somebody that the Cardinals should go after if things stay as they are with the offense.
I don’t see Reddick as a better option to Tommy Pham or Jeremy Hazelbaker in the Cardinal outfield, as things stand today.
But what if, say, Moss and Matt Adams go back into “flail and miss” mode together, and the club has no option but to move Matt Holliday to first base. An outfield of Reddick, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty with Hazelbaker/Pham off the bench and Holliday at first would be an intriguing possibility.
Likewise, there’s no health guarantees for Pham, Adams, Moss, Holliday, Grichuk, etc. That alone could be reason for St. Louis to show interest in the Oakland outfielder.
If Reddick has a big summer and the A’s tank as they did in 2015, I’m willing to bet that Billy Beane would be more than willing to entertain offers for his free-agent-to-be right fielder.
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