St. Louis Cardinals: Putting Jose Martinez on the block is a huge mistake

Based on the reports emerging in recent days, if the St. Louis Cardinals were to trade Jose Martinez, the return would simply not be worth it.

The rumors began almost immediately following the Goldschmidt trade, but not one of them seems to be getting a proper return for the value and team friendly situation Martinez brings.

The St. Louis Cardinals just seem to be desperately searching for plugs to fill the holes they feel this team needs to address. In particular, they have been using Martinez to fish for a left-handed reliever, and that doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Take a look at this tweet:

Derrick Goold tweeted this out yesterday, and it shocked me. Jose Martinez for Tony Watson? Is he really worth only that, or a Will Smith? Neither are particularly attractive options, especially when considering what you are giving up for it.

Watson signed for 3 years and $9 million last offseason at age 33, while Smith has a just a single year of control remaining. While they both pitched well last year, they did not consistently face the great left-handed batters in the NL Central division.

More important than their performance last year is the fact that Jose Martinez is much more valuable than middle aged left-handed relievers with minimal team control remaining.

I see several trade proposals talking about sending Jose Martinez AND prospects to the Giants for one of these lefties. If anything, San Francisco should be sending the St. Louis Cardinals prospects on top of the lefties.

Martinez is a top 20 offensive player in the NL. He should not be given away. Moreover, it is nonsensical to trade an offensive asset like Jose when the free agent market is replete with solid options.  Take your pick of Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, Justin Wilson, or Tony Sipp. The Cardinals currently project a payroll lower than last year — they can afford relief help.