St. Louis Cardinals: Likely trade partner teams to consider

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ST. LOUIS, MO – JULY 28: St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak looks on from the stands during a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium on July 28, 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

The St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in a tailspin of a season which was surely not what was planned. In the weakened NL-Central, however, the season might not be lost entirely. Now is the time to find suitors for trades if the season is to be salvaged.

The St. Louis Cardinals are, on paper, a good team. The Cards are made up of individual players who are all contributors but for one reason or another just haven’t figured out how to get their engines firing simultaneously. Regardless of the reason, the Cardinals would be wise to start making telephone calls to potential trade partners.

Every season at this time teams must begin to weigh whether they are going to be buyers or sellers at and before the trade deadline. This topic has been often discussed in our official podcasts here at Redbird Rants, and we surely are not alone. I imagine that GM Mozeliak sits with his braintrust on a daily basis evaluating the Cardinals and potential solutions externally.

And there is certainly evidence to suggest that Mozeliak is beginning to make phone calls. First and foremost is evidenced in the recent moves made on Sunday. It strikes me as telling that Mozeliak did NOT promote Carson Kelly. I feel this was done to protect the prospect and prevent teams from seeing just how strong he is in the majors.

To follow this, then, Mo’s promotion of Luke Voit indicates to me that perhaps this promotion is an audition for trade value. Similarly, Mike Mayers, who has been tearing up the minor leagues to the tune of a 0.89 ERA in his last five starts, was promoted for exposure. In this same mindset, I have argued for a while that Paul DeJong is also being offered to the world with his play in St. Louis.

These aren’t the only names that have circulated from the St. Louis Cardinals as being potential trade chips as we approach the trade deadline. Some of the more interesting names include Seung-hwan Oh and Trevor Rosenthal. These two names would be very enticing to a competing team.

Continuing with this thinking, then, Tito recently suggested a move sending Matt Carpenter to the Yankees. It could happen, and as July 1 is this coming Saturday, teams will begin now to ramp up their efforts to find their next move.

So who should the St. Louis Cardinals call? Which teams would make the most sense and have or need interest in our players? Who should the St. Louis Cardinals target to improve their own ball club?

Reports state that the Detroit Tigers will be active sellers before and at the deadline. The St. Louis Cardinals would be wise to make calls.

Let’s get this out of the way immediately, the St. Louis Cardinals would need to be buyers and would need to be ready to free a great deal of prospects to work a trade with the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers, admitted sellers, will be seeking to boost their prospect counts and will be looking to shed high-dollar contracts.

We at Redbird Rants have often pushed for the Cardinals to take a serious look at J.D. Martinez as a solution in the field and certainly at the plate.

One week ago, I wrote that the Cardinals should look at Martinez who- at that time- was carrying a .717 slugging percentage. He has cooled a little since then but his slug sits at a nice .622 as of Tuesday, June 27. This would be a great addition to the batting order.

In the same week-old piece, I wrote that the Cardinals would need to offer some kind of extension to Martinez to make his trade worth while. Otherwise, Martinez would come to the St. Louis Cardinals for the balance of 2017 and then hit free agency. He is making $11.75M in 2017, which the Tigers might cover some, but should indicate to the Cards that Martinez will likely seek much more in free agency.

Another name with the Tigers who could really help the Cardinals would be relief-pitcher Justin Wilson. This left-handed hurler is under team control until 2019 and will face arbitration in 2018. The Cardinals could be a nice home for him for two seasons (or more).

Currently, Wilson holds a 2.86 ERA across 28.1 innings. He has struck out forty-one batters in these 28.1 innings resulting in a very impressive 1.085 WHIP. The Cardinals could well use this left-handed pitcher but does it make sense for the Tigers to ship him away?

To that point, Wilson is making $2.7M this season, and while the contract isn’t large nor does it fit in the category of contracts the Tigers are likely seeking to offload, the Tigers could well like the idea of avoiding arbitration as they rebuild.

With both of these names, it should be noted, the St. Louis Cardinals will need to ready themselves (I know I’ve said it already but it bears repeating) to send prospects (yes, multiple names) to Detroit. This fact might make the Cardinals shy away from this trade partner but they should make a call anyway in my opinion.

Sticking in the American League, the St. Louis Cardinals should seriously consider the needs of the New York Yankees as they relate to a prosperous trade for both teams.

The St. Louis Cardinals have made deals with the Yankees in the past and, probably more importantly, former Cardinals have found their next home with the Yankees after leaving St. Louis. These names include Matt Holliday, Pete Kozma, and Brendan Ryan (just to name a few from recent years). This year, the Cardinals should make a call to the Yankees to offer them a few sales.

That’s right, this idea focuses strongly on the Cardinals being sellers. Tito Rivera, co-editor here at Redbird Rants, broke the barrier of this idea with his recent rumor post about the Cardinals potentially sending Matt Carpenter to the Yankees to fulfill their first base need. In the wake of this, the Yanks have also developed outfield and second base/short stop needs as well.

This recent news indicated that Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks heading to the DL and Starlin Castro close behind. In fact, Castro left the game on Monday with a strain and will undergo an MRI before the team makes a decision about the DL. In response, the Yankees are promoting an unknown name from AAA.

Enter then the ideas of the Cardinals being partners in filling the Yankees needs. Solution names include Carpenter, Luke Voit, Paul DeJong, Greg Garcia, and maybe even Aledmys Diaz. If the Cardinals are sellers, these names would be great solutions for the Yankees who currently sit neck-and-neck with the Red Sox at the top of the AL-East.

Who might the Cardinals take in return? In all likelihood, the Cardinals would be seeking to offload names and money in this scenario and could take a few minor league players and/or cash as they ready themselves to strike at other teams and other names. This means that the Cardinals-Yankees trade rumor depends on the Birds being sellers.

Returning to the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals should immediately be making calls to the Washington Nationals to offer solutions to their closer needs.

The Washington Nationals have a secure nine-game lead in the NL-East but they have had a rough time from their closer position. This is where the St. Louis Cardinals can help. The Cardinals should, in my opinion, be making calls today to offer the likes of Trevor Rosenthal and Seung-hwan Oh to the Nationals.

According to a recent MLB post, the Nationals are a championship team all but their bullpen. Sound familiar, St. Louis Cardinals fans? That said, the MLB article does not mention the Cardinals as potential trade partners but to that I say, why not? Surely Rosenthal and Oh would be of interest to the Nationals.

But wait! The Nationals just today signed Fransisco Rodney to a minor league deal. Rodney, a former closer of glory, fell on tough times lately with his stint with the Tigers and was ultimately released. He does have 437 career saves (4th all-time) but this season saw his ERA balloon to 7.82.

Does the signing of Rodney prevent the Nationals from having interest in Rosey or Oh? I doubt it if the price is right and if Rodney or others in the Washington pen continue to falter.

This means, therefore, that the Cardinals would be sellers in a way. In return, however, the Cards could ask for names like Stephen Drew or Wilmer Difo if they have interest in MLB players. More likely than not, the Cardinals would seek prospects or could even go for the big name of Gio Gonzalez.

The Cardinals have been attached to rumors for Drew in the past and this could be the year to make it happen. The Cardinals have also been attached to rumors for Gonzalez and with him facing vesting options or free agency in 2018, the Nationals might consider sending him off.

Gonzalez, left-handed, has started sixteen games this season and pitched 100.1 innings thus far. He has a beautiful 2.87 ERA which would certainly raise the price required to land him. In addition, the Nationals are very likely not interested in sending off a power starter like this since they anticipate postseason play.

All-in-all, the Cardinals need to call the Nationals and start the conversations right now.

KANSAS CITY, MO – JUNE 25: Toronto Blue Jays’ fans watch their team during a game against the Kansas City Royals in the eighth inning at Kauffman Stadium on June 25, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

The St. Louis Cardinals could really use a long-term solution at third base and the Toronto Blue Jays should look to be sellers.

The Toronto Blue Jays don’t look to be postseason-bound. With this thinking in mind, and with a big name and big dollar player like Josh Donaldson on their books, they should be willing to listen to offers. Enter the St. Louis Cardinals.

We have written about Donaldson often here as many of us believe that he would fit nicely into the St. Louis Cardinals defense and certainly add pop to an otherwise weak offense. It will take a load to land him but the Cardinals have plenty to offer.

Here’s what I think: the Cardinals should offer anyone- save a few- who Toronto would like. I can easily see Voit heading north. I can easily see DeJong heading north. I can also easily see the likes of Mike Mayers and/or others from Memphis joining these names. In fact, I could see the Cardinals shopping Kolten Wong to the Jays in order to land Donaldson and I’d be a-okay with that.

How about Carpenter? If the Jays wanted Carpenter in a deal to land the Cardinals Donaldson, why shouldn’t the Cards take that offer?

The sticky part is the pending free agency of Donaldson and the current value on his contract– he is earning $17M in 2017. My guess is that an $18-19M AAV over three years will be necessary to lock him up. The Cardinals have the money and should certainly consider this option.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – JUNE 24: Welington Castillo /

Like the Blue Jays before them, the Baltimore Orioles do not seem to be postseason bound and have a slugger the St. Louis Cardinals should be coveting,

The St. Louis Cardinals, if they have interest in a name like Donaldson, should absolutely hold interest in Manny Machado with the Orioles. The Orioles are in almost the same position as the Cardinals in their divison– second to last and roughly four games out of the lead. By not appearing to be a postseason team, and by having a big-dollar name, the two clubs could be a nice pair.

Machado is a beast and would fit nicely in the St. Louis Cardinals roster. He has a 2017 slash of .228/.299/.446 which isn’t his best, but is worth noting. Could a change of pace help him find is slugging ways again? These low numbers could also help the Cardinals land him…

Machado is a free agent in 2018 so, like Donaldson before, the Cardinals will need to offer some kind of extension to lock-up the gold-glover and all-star. Manny is being paid $11.5M in 2017 and could well earn in the neighborhood of $15-16MM in free agency.

St. Louis Cardinals: This team needs to free Carson Kelly

The St. Louis Cardinals catching prospect Carson Kelly is ready. He needs to be on the big-league club, and the team needs him.

What do you think? Should the St. Louis Cardinals kick the tires on the players mentioned here? Which team do you think makes the best trade partner for the Cards? Let me know on Twitter and thanks for reading!

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