St. Louis Cardinals: Why aren’t we discussing Kyle Seager?

The St. Louis Cardinals need a lot of things, but a third basemen and left handed hitter might be the most prominent one. So why aren’t we talking about acquiring Kyle Seager?

Imagine if the St. Louis Cardinals could acquire a former Gold Glove winner who also brings a power bat, drives in runs, and hits left handed, all for a pretty reasonable price.

Enter: Kyle Seager. Seager checks off almost every box on the Cardinals wish list…except that he isn’t Bryce Harper.

Is he the sexiest move? No, but that is only because he’s spent his career playing for a losing Seattle Mariners team and his brother plays shortstop in Hollywood.

Everything else points to picking up Seager being a good move for the St. Louis Cardinals. Not to mention, he’d probably be a pretty easy grab considering the Mariners are giving their team up for next to nothing thus far.

He has a career .OPS of .765, which is higher than someone like Mike Moustakas in free agency or Jedd Gyorko as an internal option. As for the rest, his stats below speak for what he can do:

As far as what the Cards would I have to give up to get him – I don’t think it would be much. The Mariners are reportedly doing “whatever it takes” to deal Kyle Seager. Past, present, and future potential cornerstones have already been traded in Robinson Cano, James Paxton, and Edwin Diaz, and all signs are pointing towards Seager not commanding significant value.

In an ideal world, the Mariners wouldn’t mind swapping for Fowler’s bad contract (Fowler is making less than Seager) and maybe a pitching prospect with upside. With the previously discussed circumstances and the fact that Seager is coming off of a bit of a down year, there is reason to believe that the St. Louis Cardinals might actually be able to pull something like this off.

I’d much rather take on Seager’s contract of about $4.5 million more over the next three seasons, and get the production and everyday play at third than keeping Fowler, and what St. Louis Cardinals fan wouldn’t at this point? Giving up a mid level pitching prospect would be a small price to pay to make that happen.

An Alternative to Goldschmidt?

I like this move a heck of a lot more than trading for Paul Goldschmidt. The Goldschmidt move in theory sounds nice, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense for the spot the Cards find themselves in. With Seager, you get team control, Matt Carpenter gets to stay at first base, and the Cardinals fill a left handed need (obviously can’t stress this one enough).

With Goldschmidt, the Cardinals have to give up more prospects, and there’s no guarantee they’d get him beyond 2019. On top of that, Carp has to take his weak arm to third everyday, and you might be forced to take on Zack Greinke’s contract.

Trading for Seager is arguably safer, and he will give you good production for what the St. Louis Cardinals would have to give up for him. He really bolsters the middle of the lineup and will provide solid defense as an everyday player. Acquiring Seager as a backup plan or an in-addition-to plan with Harper makes a lot more sense than anything else I’ve heard when dealing with third base.

I could picture a lineup with Seager and Harper looking somewhere along the lines of:

1B: Matt Carpenter

CF: Harrison Bader (Why wouldn’t Bader hit second?)

RF: Bryce Harper

LF: Marcell Ozuna

3B: Kyle Seager

C: Yadier Molina

SS: Paul DeJong

2B: Kolten Wong

That’s a pretty lethal lineup from top to bottom.

Even if the Harper thing doesn’t happen, you can slide in someone like Michael Brantley or Tyler O’Neill and instead acquire a decent relief arm or two. Even just with Kyle Seager and a strengthened bullpen, I would still like the St. Louis Cardinals’ odds to get 95 wins in 2019.

No matter how you spin it, no matter how you analyze it, the St. Louis Cardinals have to start making some moves. With the Mariners unloading, an opportunity to pick up some great value and fill a need with Kyle Seager is apparent, and the Cardinals should try and take it.