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St. Louis Cardinals: Four players likely to be traded in 2020

By Matt Graves

JUPITER, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 22: Dakota Hudson #43 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers a pitch against the New York Mets in the third inning of a Grapefruit League spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium on February 22, 2020 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
JUPITER, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 22: Dakota Hudson #43 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers a pitch against the New York Mets in the third inning of a Grapefruit League spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium on February 22, 2020 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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FORT MYERS, FL- MARCH 09: Andrew Knizner #7 of the St. Louis Cardinals looks on during a spring training game between the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals on March 9, 2020 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
FORT MYERS, FL- MARCH 09: Andrew Knizner #7 of the St. Louis Cardinals looks on during a spring training game between the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals on March 9, 2020 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) /

Andrew Knizner

Of all the players on this list, I hope that Knizner is traded the most. This is not anything against him. In fact, he has been one of the most entertaining players to watch rise through the minor leagues. However, the writing is on the wall that the 25-year-old Knizner needs to be moved.

Just like Carson Kelly before him, Yadier Molina has a firm grasp on the catcher’s spot and it doesn’t seem like he’ll be giving it up soon. With a two-year extension in the works and Matt Wieters under contract again, Knizner is going to have to spend a second full season at AAA in 2020.

Given the circumstances, it’s the right move, but the team is wasting the early career of a stud catcher.

At AAA last year, Knizner hit a slash of .276/.357/.463 with 12 homers in just 66 games. Extrapolated out over an entire season, that puts him on pace to hit between 25-30 bombs.

It is just AAA, but an .821 OPS suggests he’s plenty ready for the next step. He just needs time to play. When he was with the big club last year, he didn’t play well because he rarely played.

Again, just like Carson Kelly before him, they need to move on and get some value from Knizner before he finally starts at 28. A catcher with offensive potential can net a lot in the trade market and the Cards would be idiots to let that go to waste.

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