St. Louis Cardinals: Cardinals trade rumors update

With the trade deadline is creeping nearer and nearer, St. Louis Cardinals fans need to stay up to date on the rumors involving their team.

The St. Louis Cardinals are officially two weeks away from the trade deadline. July 31st has been steadily creeping up for a while. Rumors have been tossed around daily, ranging from the realistic to the clearly insane. What the Cardinals will do remains to be seen, but that hasn’t stopped them from being involved in many different rumors.

In this post we will take a look at a few of the rumors that have been floating around and what they could mean for the team. Trade rumors are one of the most exciting parts of baseball this time of the year. Unfortunately, those rumors can anger fans or get their hopes up, without a single bit of validity to them.

The Cardinals are sitting on the outside looking in. They aren’t out of the race in the National League Central, but they also aren’t doing themselves any favors in an attempt to make a playoff run. Could a move or two get this team back on track? Or is this a lost season for the Redbirds? The next two weeks will probably decide that and there will be countless rumors supporting both sides until then.

If you’ve lived under a rock recently, here are a few of our rumor articles to get you caught up on what we think might interest the St. Louis Cardinals as the deadline approaches:

• “A team searching for hitting all year, the St. Louis Cardinals look to two young outfielders in Miami as their next targets. While big names like Josh Donaldson and Giancarlo Stanton are great to talk about, this would be a much better fit for the trajectory of this team.” Christian May-Suzuki
• “It is trade deadline season, and the rumors are swirling. One of which is Giancarlo Stanton and the idea of him being dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals. Worth it, or should the Cardinals go after a big name free agent?” Drew Clark
• “Early this morning, Rotoworld reported the St. Louis Cardinals have interest in the Toronto Blue Jays’ third baseman, Josh Donaldson.” Tito Rivera-Bosques
• “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.” Dr. Michael D. Miles

Since the deadline is just around the corner, let’s take a look at some updates on rumors that have been circulating.

Could the St. Louis Cardinals front office finally get the bullpen the help it needs?

USA Today’s, Bob Nightengale had a piece recently released that discussed potential destinations for guys on the block. In his piece he takes a look at a potential deal for the St. Louis Cardinals. That deal would send Tyler Lyons packing and on his way to the Baltimore Orioles. In return the Cardinals would receive relief pitcher, Brad Brach.

Cardinal fans know how much of a struggle it has been for the bullpen this year. On multiple occasions the team has had the game in hand and the bullpen has found a way to blow it. Improving the dumpster fire that has been the Cardinals bullpen could go a long way in improving this team for this year and going forward.

Brad Brach, 31, has been a force for the Orioles this season. To this point in the year, Brach is touting a 2.75 ERA, a .86 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 39.1 innings. While Brach has been dominant thus far in 2017, his career stats show that those numbers have staying power. A career ERA of 2.94 paired with a 1.20 career WHIP, Brach would be a wonderful addition to the bullpen.

If the Cardinals were to trade for Brach, it wouldn’t be a one year rental. Brach is under contract for the 2018 season. This makes Brach far more appealing than other potential pieces, because this team knows that this may not be their year. Adding Brach for this year and next, allows the team to come out swinging in 2018 if 2017 ends poorly.

In any trade there has to be some sort of loss. In this deal the Cardinals would be moving a very familiar face in Tyler Lyons. Lyons has been up and down with the team for the last five seasons, filling in multiple different roles, including long relief and in the rotation. Trading Lyons would show this team is willing to move in a different direction than the way they have previously.

The Baltimore Orioles starting rotation makes the Cardinals bullpen look like an All-Star team. Baltimore has seen one of the worst performances in history from their rotation this season. A move that would bring in a pitcher capable of sliding into the rotation immediately is something they have to consider.

This is the type of deal that this team needs to make: smart, methodical moves that not only improve the team for this season, but also set them up for success next year are what this team needs. If the Cardinals front office wants to be successful going forward, then the bullpen needs to be made a priority. It cannot be made by piecing together options already within the organization.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins have been connected for weeks, could a deal be possible?

Another day, another rumor out of Miami. The St. Louis Cardinals have been linked to every single starting outfielder for the Miami Marlins in the last couple months. This time though, the focus is on Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich.

According to Mark Feinsand, an executive report for MLB.com indicated that the Marlins had representation in attendance for Dakota Hudson’s last start. Hudson, whom the Cardinals selected 34th overall in last year’s draft, has been impressive to date. The 22-year-old out of Mississippi State has a 2.77 ERA for AA Springfield.

Trevor Hooth decided to come out of retirement to plead with the Cardinals to not move Hudson in a post for us again here at Redbird Rants.

The Cardinals have been attached to every single member of the Marlins outfield at different times in recent weeks. Being that a bat for the middle of the order is a necessity for this team, the rumors make sense. The Marlins- in typical fashion- have built a collection of solid players, unfortunately for their fans, the results haven’t been there. This is leading to yet another potential Marlins fire sale.

If the Cardinals do find themselves acquiring Ozuna or Yelich, fans will have to expect to see Hudson and then some on their way to Miami in return. Fortunately for Cardinals fans, both of these players are locked up past this season. Either one would make a great addition to the team, as long as the front office is willing to match the price it would cost.

The front office being willing to make a move like this remains to be seen. I recently wrote about the Cardinals front office and their inability to take risks. This move exemplifies risk in the Cardinals eyes.

Moving on from home grown prospects to take on a major league contract has not been the Cardinal way in the past. With the ever-changing landscape of Major League Baseball though, this is the type of move a team may have to make to stay competitive.

The Baltimore Orioles could be the perfect trade partner for the St. Louis Cardinals, even if it is an unlikely scenario.

In the world of unrealistic, Buster Olney says that if the Baltimore Orioles are looking to move Zach Britton they should also look into moving Manny Machado. I talked about the St. Louis Cardinals being both buyers and sellers a few weeks ago, with Machado being the end goal for the team. If the Orioles look to move Machado, as unlikely as it is, the Cardinals have to call.

Machado will be a free agent after next season, so there is some risk there. He will command a very impressive contract when his deal comes to an end at the end of next season. If the Cardinals want to potentially have a leg up on the competition for Machado in free agency, having him on the team and experiencing St. Louis can’t hurt.

Imagining Manny Machado in a Cardinal uniform sounds great, but it comes with a cost. If the Cardinals are going to add a player like Machado, expect to pay a pretty penny. The move would most likely require the Cardinals to move a good chunk of their top ten prospects. Is the potential future of Manny Machado worth that? It’s hard to say, but he would bring the star power this team has been missing.

If the Cardinals wait on Machado and look to get involved after the 2018 season it is safe to assume they will be in a bidding war. This team has stayed away from spending the kind of money it would require to add a player of this caliber in the past. If the Cardinals are willing to make that change, Machado is the perfect guy to buck the trend.