St. Louis Cardinals: Likely trade partner teams to consider

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.

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.

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.

More from St Louis Cardinals Rumors

• Cardinals: Free-agent Cody Bellinger hitting with Matt Holliday
• Cardinals: Pros and cons of free agent targets for St. Louis
• Cardinals: Alex Reyes and Delvin Perez should be cautionary tales
• Cardinals: One move they don’t want to see each NL contender make
• Cardinals: 6 stars St. Louis should trade for this off-season

The St. Louis Cardinals should offer this money and offer the Orioles any prospect they request and/or the names mentioned in the previous slide. See? It is easy to get good players, Mo, if you are willing to part ways with those you have.

Along these lines, I think Lance Lynn would be a name of interest to the Orioles. Baltimore could use pitching and Lynn is a pending FA who the Orioles could convert into a long solution. Lynn is a good pitcher but I just don’t see him on the Cardinals team past 2017 and perhaps this fact could help send him somewhere he would find success and land the Cardinals a power bat in return.

Bottom line in all of these is the fact that the Cardinals need to decide to become buyers or sellers. The series that begins today with Arizona should/could offer some insight into what changes the Cardinals need to make to reverse the “not a positive trend” (Mozeliak) the birds are currently experiencing.

For more on the precarious buy/sell conundrum, jump over and read Nathan’s recent post. For more on the upcoming Arizona series, check out Trevor’s preview.

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!