Cardinals Rumors: “Don’t be surprised” if St. Louis pursues Xander Bogaerts

A recent report says “don’t be surprised” if the St. Louis Cardinals pursue a trade for Red Sox star shortstop Xander Bogaerts.

The most widely discussed topic surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals is how long the team can stick with struggling shortstop Paul DeJong. Entering Tuesday, he’s hitting a mere .130/.209/.208 with a .417 OPS, which is somehow even worse than the .197/.284/.390 with .674 OPS that he posted last season.

The Cardinals are giving DeJong every opportunity to bounce back, though patience may be running thin as he has shown no signs of doing so. And if they do indeed make a change at shortstop, Jim Bowden of The Athletic says “don’t be surprised” if the Cardinals pursue Boston Red Sox star shortstop Xander Bogaerts.

This caught my attention for many reasons and on the surface, it makes sense. The Red Sox are severely underperforming and could be a candidate for a massive sell-off if things don’t get better soon. Bogaerts is a free agent after the season and an early extension offer reportedly left the player unhappy as he looks to break the bank with his next contract. And boy, would Bogaerts be an upgrade for the Cardinals, and make them a favorite to represent the National League in the World Series.

But here’s why it doesn’t make sense: acquiring Bogaerts is going to cost a LOT and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has shown no willingness in the past to trade high-end prospects for players. Besides, if he wasn’t willing to do that for Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, who were both under contract for multiple seasons, why would he do it for Bogaerts who will become a free agent at the end of the season?

Second, is the price of Bogaerts’ eventual deal. He turned down a one-year, $30 million extension from the Red Sox, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, and he’ll surely want a six-plus year contract worth a similar dollar value.

With Goldschmidt (and possibly Arenado) under contract in 2023 and beyond, as well as future extensions for Tyler O’Neill, among others, retaining Bogaerts would require the Cardinals to stretch payroll to an uncomfortable level.

It’s why Bogaerts to St. Louis feels like a pipe dream at best.