St. Louis Cardinals Rumors: Finding a trade for Cody Bellinger

There have been recent reports that the Dodgers would be willing to part with Cody Bellinger, a left-handed power hitting outfielder. If that player isn’t on the St. Louis Cardinals wish list, I don’t know who is. With others reporting Dodger interest in Jose Martinez, it seems we have the start of a deal.

To start, why would Cody Bellinger be an upgrade over in-house options like Jose Martinez, Dexter Fowler, and Tyler O’Neill? For one, he’s left handed. The only two lefties projected to be in the St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day lineup are Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong. Bellinger would provide a wonderful left-handed presence anywhere in the heart of the order.

Not only is Bellinger left-handed, but he also hits for power. In his first two years in the big leagues, Bellinger has averaged 35 home runs and 71 extra base hits per 162 games. That is big time production. He’s also shown a knack for timely hitting, with an .894 OPS with runners in scoring position.

Defensively, the man is no slouch either. Bellinger would predictably be manning right field for the Cards, and he has been solid in that role. Both of the last two years have seen Bellinger produce positive Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in the outfield, with 5 in his rookie year and 6 the year after.

While he may seem way too valuable for the Dodgers to give up with all of this in mind, especially considering he’s only 23 and isn’t eligible for free agency until 2024, that apparently isn’t the case. The Dodgers are open to trading Bellinger, and LA fans aren’t exactly sure what to think.

Dexter Fowler has been worth -23 DRS in the last two years, and Jose Martinez didn’t do much better at -12 DRS in the outfield for the St. Louis Cardinals. Tyler O’Neill does rate as a solid defender, but the club seems adamant to not start him. He is right handed and does strike quite a bit, neither of which the Cardinals front office feels the team needs.

It’s clear as day that Bellinger is better in almost every way than the in-house right field options, which makes him an ideal target for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Another important thing to note is the addition of Bellinger would leave Fowler available to serve as a lefty bat off the bench. While none of his stats were appealing in 2018, Fowler hit .268/.372/.511 as a left-handed hitter in 2017 with the Cardinals, which would actually be an excellent slash line for a backup.

The real question becomes then, what would it take to pry Bellinger from LA and make this all work? The Dodgers reportedly have interest in Jose Martinez, who is being shopped by the Cardinals following the Goldschmidt trade. While Bellinger for Martinez straight would never get by the Dodgers, their interest in him provides me with a convenient starting point.

The Dodgers are also said to want catching and/or relief pitching in their general offseason pursuits. While the St. Louis Cardinals have no catcher to offer, they do have a plethora of young arms capable of pitching out of the pen. I suggest Dakota Hudson for his prospect upside and Daniel Poncedeleon for his stable, innings-eater value. Both are capable of starting and both come with long-term team control.

In 33 innings, Poncedeleon struck out 31 batters, and posted a very solid 2.73 ERA, 3.34 FIP, and 1.12 WHIP. He was overall very effective, and is capable of throwing multiple innings and going late into games. Hudson, at age 23, posted a 2.63 ERA in 27.1 Major League innings. Hudson also decimated the hitter-friendly AAA Pacific Coast League last year as a starter, which lead to him being named PCL Pitcher of the Year in 2018.

This trade would provide the Dodgers two young, viable pitchers (not to mention one with high-leverage experience in Hudson) and an elite hitter, while the Cardinals receive an elite player that fills several lineup needs at once. This helps St. Louis reduce some roster redundancy, and opens up a slot in the Dodgers lineup as they seem keen to do.

If the front office is so desperate to grab a left-handed bat, they should make sure it’s one who will actually contribute something else besides just being left-handed. With Cody Bellinger, the addition won’t just be superficial. His power and defensive talent will actually make the St. Louis Cardinals better.