Cardinals Rumors: St. Louis discussed parameters of Trevor Story trade

The St. Louis Cardinals understand their offense needs to be better, evidenced by their pursuit of Trevor Story at the trade deadline.

The St. Louis Cardinals were expected to be marginal buyers at the trade deadline. That much was evident by the additions of J.A. Happ and Jon Lester. But they did check in on some of the biggest names available, with Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story being among them.

Indeed, the Cardinals approached the Rockies about “the parameters of a trade” that would have sent Story to St. Louis, according to Jeff Jones of the Belleville-News Democrat.

A trade did not materialize, of course, but it underscores that the Cardinals are open to pursuing shortstop upgrades. And with the upcoming free-agent class being the best in baseball history, it’s probable that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak and the front office dabbles in that market to see if there are any deals that can be made.

Carlos Correa and Corey Seager figure to get at least $300+ million and should be out of the Cardinals’ price range. Javier Baez looks like an absolute disaster in New York and could end back up with the Chicago Cubs. Marcus Semien could earn a big payday after a breakout season with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Which brings the Cardinals back to Story, who has obvious familiarity with Nolan Arenado from their time together in Colorado. Story, of course, has struggled this season, hitting .246/.325/.447 with 16 home runs and 58 RBI in 418 at-bats. He has been a much better player than that throughout his six-year career, with his career slashline being .272/.340/.521, and his struggles this year can be traced to just how bad the Rockies are.

Story could be a candidate for a lucrative one-year deal similar to what Semien signed with the Blue Jays. A one-year, $18 or so million deal could stretch the books for the Cardinals in 2022, but that and other upgrades throughout the roster would give them a real chance at competing for a title in Yadier Molina’s last season.

Just because it didn’t work out at the deadline doesn’t mean Story to the Cardinals won’t happen. In fact, there’s a real chance they circle back in the offseason, when acquiring him won’t come at the cost of depleting their farm system.