1 player the St. Louis Cardinals should steal from each division rival

ST LOUIS, MO - SEPTEMBER 28: Members of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate after beating the Milwaukee Brewers to clinch a wild-card playoff birth at Busch Stadium on September 28, 2021 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - SEPTEMBER 28: Members of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate after beating the Milwaukee Brewers to clinch a wild-card playoff birth at Busch Stadium on September 28, 2021 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 02: CoRBIn Burnes #39 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium on October 02, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 02: CoRBIn Burnes #39 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium on October 02, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) /

Milwaukee Brewers: Corbin Burnes

At 27, Corbin Burnes is the reigning NL Cy Young winner. He is arbitration-eligible with the Milwaukee Brewers this season and will be a free agent in 2025. He is most definitely an arm you’d love to see in the Cardinals rotation.

Burnes pitched 167 innings in 28 games, going 11-5 with a 2.43 ERA. He tossed an impressive 234 strikeouts and a 33.8% called-strike rate.

Burnes has a deep pitching arsenal with a cutter, a curveball, a changeup, a slide, a sinker, and a four-seam fastball. The cutter is his most used pitches and averages 95.2 mph with a vertical drop of 18.7-inches and an active spin of 53%.

He would be great to see in the top half of the Cardinals rotation. The  Brewers aren’t likely to trade their top-pitcher. Especially to the Cardinals.

Yes, Christian Yelich is another player you’d love to see with the Cardinals but with his back issues and a 9-year contract worth $215 that takes him through 2028, and a mutual option for 2029, it’s inconceivable. Plus, Tyler O’Neill and Harrison Bader are pretty great.