St. Louis Cardinals: Birds the Cardinals need to consider trading

Whether they are buyers or sellers at or before the deadline, the St. Louis Cardinals have three names who would make bait in trades.

The St. Louis Cardinals must decide and must decide soon whether they are interested in competing this season or not. Based on this decision, they must then decide to become buyers or sellers as the trade deadline approaches.

Many writers, we here at Redbird Rants included, have discussed and considered the buy/sell option. This topic will surface over and over again as the month of July approaches. If you are tired of this topic already, hold onto your hats because the topic will only get louder and louder once we pass the 4th of July holiday.

Looking ahead then, who might the St. Louis Cardinals offer in a trade of any nature? Regardless of buying or selling, the team has at least three names worth examining as pieces of value in any transaction.

First up is Lance Lynn. This power starter for the St. Louis Cardinals is on the final year of his contract with the Cards. Despite his insistence that he would like an extension and to stay with the Arch City team for a few more years, his value is currently high and trading him now would make the most sense for the birds on the back.

Here’s a look at Lynn’s career numbers:

Standard Pitching
Year	Age	Tm	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9	SO/W	Awards
2011	24	STL	1	1	.500	3.12	18	2	2	0	0	1	34.2	25	12	12	3	11	1	40	1	0	1	136	120	2.88	1.038	6.5	0.8	2.9	10.4	3.64
2012	25	STL	18	7	.720	3.78	35	29	2	0	0	0	176.0	168	76	74	16	64	3	180	10	0	3	744	100	3.49	1.318	8.6	0.8	3.3	9.2	2.81	AS
2013	26	STL	15	10	.600	3.97	33	33	0	0	0	0	201.2	189	92	89	14	76	0	198	11	0	6	856	94	3.28	1.314	8.4	0.6	3.4	8.8	2.61
2014	27	STL	15	10	.600	2.74	33	33	0	2	1	0	203.2	185	72	62	13	72	1	181	7	0	7	866	133	3.35	1.262	8.2	0.6	3.2	8.0	2.51
2015	28	STL	12	11	.522	3.03	31	31	0	0	0	0	175.1	172	66	59	13	68	5	167	5	0	2	751	129	3.44	1.369	8.8	0.7	3.5	8.6	2.46

2017	30	STL	5	3	.625	2.69	13	13	0	0	0	0	73.2	50	26	22	12	30	0	71	5	0	1	302	158	4.75	1.086	6.1	1.5	3.7	8.7	2.37
6 Yr	6 Yr	6 Yr	66	42	.611	3.31	163	141	4	2	1	1	865.0	789	344	318	71	321	10	837	39	0	20	3655	115	3.48	1.283	8.2	0.7	3.3	8.7	2.61
162	162	162	15	9	.611	3.31	36	32	1	0	0	0	193	176	77	71	16	72	2	187	9	0	4	818	115	3.48	1.283	8.2	0.7	3.3	8.7	2.61

Note the outstanding numbers this season. Lynn is returning from Tommy John surgery and doing so outstandingly (like the repetition of the word ‘outstanding?’).

Lynn is earning $7.5M in 2017 which is quite honestly a steal for the numbers he is putting out there. He will hit free agency at the end of this season if the Cardinals do not extend him. On the open market, Lynn could well command a figure north of $11M. If a team could grab him now and extend him, they could easily control this number and keep it from eclipsing $15M.

Those things in mind, Lynn should be very appealing to teams shopping the market before the market starts shopping players.

Another great name that the St. Louis Cardinals should shop would be Seung-hwan Oh. Oh was great as the closer for the Cardinals and continues to serve as such but he too is facing free agency if the Cardinals don’t lock him up now.

Let’s have a look at Oh’s numbers:

Standard Pitching
Year	Age	Tm	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	WP	BF	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9	SO/W	Awards
2016	33	STL	6	3	.667	1.92	76	35	19	79.2	55	20	17	5	18	3	103	2	3	313	212	2.13	0.916	6.2	0.6	2.0	11.6	5.72	RoY-6
2017	34	STL	1	3	.250	3.48	28	22	15	31.0	34	15	12	4	10	5	30	2	1	139	122	4.04	1.419	9.9	1.2	2.9	8.7	3.00
2 Yr	2 Yr	2 Yr	7	6	.538	2.36	104	57	34	110.2	89	35	29	9	28	8	133	4	4	452	175	2.66	1.057	7.2	0.7	2.3	10.8	4.75
162	162	162	5	4	.538	2.36	68	37	22	72	58	23	19	6	18	5	87	3	3	296	175	2.66	1.057	7.2	0.7	2.3	10.8	4.75

Notice the impressive command he has shown. Yes, his ERA is inflated this season in comparison to the 2016 season. This is likely due to players having a greater amount of video on Oh than they had in ’16. This does not, however, diminish his prowess.

A team seeking a closer would love to kick the tires on Oh who is currently paid $2.75M and who will hit free agency at the conclusion of the ’17 campaign. Like Lynn before, Oh is likely to seek a high-dollar contract and could well get it. In other words, a team would be wise to snatch Oh before he hits free agency and convince him to sign an extension.

If the St. Louis Cardinals extend Oh- there hasn’t been any discussion of this lately- then Trevor Rosenthal becomes an attractive name (more on that in a moment). If the St. Louis Cardinals choose to trade Oh, then Rosenthal becomes the closer for the birds once again.

On to Rosenthal then. Trevor was once the dominant closer of the St. Louis Cardinals. He faltered and ultimately lost his position to the powerful pitcher from Korea. Having now returned to his former glory (while also struggling at times too), Rosenthal is either protection for the club to shop Oh (as was mentioned above) and/or is an intriguing name for a trade.

Let’s be honest for a moment, both Oh and Rosy could be intriguing names should the Cardinals decide to become sellers.

Regardless of the above statement, let’s take a look at Rosenthal’s career numbers:

Standard Pitching
Year	Age	Tm	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9	SO/W	Awards
2012	22	STL	0	2	.000	2.78	19	7	0	22.2	14	7	7	2	7	0	25	1	0	1	89	139	3.10	0.926	5.6	0.8	2.8	9.9	3.57
2013	23	STL	2	4	.333	2.63	74	15	3	75.1	63	25	22	4	20	0	108	6	0	3	311	143	1.91	1.102	7.5	0.5	2.4	12.9	5.40
2014	24	STL	2	6	.250	3.20	72	59	45	70.1	57	25	25	2	42	5	87	4	1	1	308	114	2.99	1.408	7.3	0.3	5.4	11.1	2.07
2015	25	STL	2	4	.333	2.10	68	57	48	68.2	62	16	16	3	25	3	83	1	0	7	287	188	2.42	1.267	8.1	0.4	3.3	10.9	3.32	AS,MVP-17
2016	26	STL	2	4	.333	4.46	45	27	14	40.1	48	22	20	3	29	0	56	3	0	0	197	92	3.72	1.909	10.7	0.7	6.5	12.5	1.93
2017	27	STL	1	3	.250	3.65	27	5	3	24.2	17	10	10	2	10	0	41	0	0	0	100	117	2.08	1.095	6.2	0.7	3.6	15.0	4.10
6 Yr	6 Yr	6 Yr	9	23	.281	2.98	305	170	113	302.0	261	105	100	16	133	8	400	15	1	12	1292	130	2.62	1.305	7.8	0.5	4.0	11.9	3.01
162	162	162	2	5	.281	2.98	68	38	25	67	58	23	22	4	30	2	89	3	0	3	288	130	2.62	1.305	7.8	0.5	4.0	11.9	3.01

Notice his return-to-form numbers for 2017. Without a solid choice for a closer, a team should look at Rosenthal who also shows some promise to possibly start.

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Rosenthal is not a free agent until 2019 so carries with him a solid year of team control but is facing another year of arbitration. If a team could grab him now, that team could buy out the arbitration through an extension and lock-up Rosenthal for a few years to come.

This team could be the St. Louis Cardinals. Either way, the birds would be wise to dangle this name into the market.

All three of these are viable names who could be included in any deal. Would these work for a deal for someone like J.D. Martinez? Could they all three go in a three-team deal? Just some thoughts to consider as the deadline approaches.

Next: Second Sports Crate coming

What do you think? Would you sell these names? Who else might you sell? Let me know on Twitter. Thanks for reading and GO CARDINALS!

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