St. Louis Cardinals: Four players likely to be traded this offseason

The St. Louis Cardinals need to make some upgrades this offseason and they have the talent to be able to do this. Which players are likely to be traded?

In the offseason before the 2019 season, the St. Louis Cardinals made the biggest trade they have made arguably this decade by sending Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver, and Andy Young in exchange for their star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

The Cardinals hadn’t made a big trade in a while and it was a good sign for what was to come before the 2019 season that saw the team make it all the way to the NLCS. As we all know, the team still has plenty of flaws and there is work to be done.

John Mozeliak may not be the most trigger-happy trader, but between free agency and trades, I believe this offseason will see the Cardinals move at least a few players from positions of depth to help where the team needs it. While I believe players like Kolten Wong, Carlos Martinez, or Andrew Knizner are long shots to be moved, they would net more talent than anyone who is most likely to be moved.

Without further delay, who is the most likely to be moved this season?

Tyler O’Neill

Tyler O’Neill has all the potential in the world to be an All-Star outfielder. Acquired for Marco Gonzales, O’Neill has never got an extended look playing regularly at the major league level. With some of the most power of anyone in the organization, I wish he would be given a chance, but the team has seemingly made it clear that that won’t happen.

During the month of 2019 that Marcell Ozuna was on the IL with his broken fingers, the 24-year-old hit .301 with a .823 OPS. When Ozuna came back though, O’Neill was once again glued to the bench.

His season numbers don’t look great, but he played in a combined six games in the months of May, June, and August. When he played a lot in April and July, he produced, as I noted before. He can play solid defense at any outfield position and has speed on the basepaths. He seems like a perfect package yet the Cardinals seem reluctant to give him a real chance.

It’s for this reason that I believe he will get traded. With the Marcell Ozuna sized hole in left field, the team could hold on to him and give him an extended look, but with the plethora of outfielders the team has, O’Neill is (but shouldn’t be) expendable.

O’Neill wouldn’t have as much trade value as Jose Martinez, but he could still be a valuable trade piece.

Daniel Ponce de Leon

First appearing in the Majors last year at the age of 26, Daniel Ponce de Leon still has his rookie status intact after pitching as a spot starter and reliever for the Cardinals in 2019. Ponce de Leon sits in a similar spot as O’Neill as he clearly has potential, but hasn’t been given a very extended look.

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He did replace Michael Wacha for some time in the rotation during the 2019 season but was removed after just a couple of starts. In total, he made just eight starts on the year but was still 16% above average with a 3.70 ERA.

Ponce de Leon spent a lot of the year just sitting in the bullpen waiting to pitch as the long man even though he proved he could perform in the starter’s role or in a short inning reliever. As with O’Neill, how the team treated him shows where he sits.

If Ponce de Leon was a part of the team’s long-term plans, I believe we would’ve seen him in a more prominent role. At the end of the day though, he is a pitcher who has proved he can start and start well. Even at the age of 27, he has value that could be moved for another player.

Lane Thomas

No other player on the team this year was played less than Thomas was when he was on the MLB roster. The epitome of what a player looks like when the team has no plans for him, Thomas was up in the Majors the majority of the year but was sent up and down four times during the season.

He appeared in 34 games at the MLB level but started just three of those, all in one week. In those three starts, Thomas went 5-12 with six RBIs. Did that change how the team played him? Nope. It was right back to the bench, not to be seen again until a missing person report was filed on him.

Thomas then broke his wrist and was sidelined the last month of the season, ending what was surely a frustrating time for the rookie. In all, Thomas his .316 with a 1.093 OPS and four homers and 12 RBIs over the 38 at-bats he received in his rookie season and could seemingly do nothing to get in the lineup more.

That is why I believe he’ll get his name called for a trade in the offseason. Why else would the team not play the rookie who is clearly performing? He likely isn’t in the plans and the team is shutting him out when he tries to butt his way in. Thomas played a positive defensive center field and has speed on the bases.

There is nobody else that I could see more likely to turn out like the Oscar Mercado trade. If the team trades him, they will probably end up regretting it.

There aren’t any real exciting trades that I believe are likely this offseason, but of these complementary players, the Cardinals could exchange them for other pieces that they need. As has been the case in recent years, there is a ton of outfield depth which is where I believe a trade should come from. Whether or not they do, we will find out in the coming months.