5 shortstop trade options the St. Louis Cardinals should consider

The St. Louis Cardinals have a shortstop problem.  There are a few internal candidates, but is the best option to go outside the organization for a solution?

The St. Louis Cardinals finally determined Paul DeJong‘s bat was so flaccid they needed to send him back to … well, the Redbirds – the actual ones in Memphis.  Something had to change at the shortstop position, and the short-term plan is to give Brendan Donovan and Edmundo Sosa opportunities to earn the starting job.

However, the Cardinals also must consider the possibility that the best option would be to go outside the organization to find a suitable shortstop to help them in their playoff push.  The thing is, any player they pursue has to meet several criteria.

A shortstop acquired in trade of course must be an upgrade on the current crop of players within the system.  So while players like Andrelton Simmons and Jonathan Villar probably will be available from the Cubs later this season, and the same is likely true regarding the Nationals’ Alcides Escobar, none would offer significant, if any, improvement over the status quo.

The player has to be available, as well.  Sure, Trea Turner would look great wearing a jersey with birds on the bat across the chest, but there’s no way the Dodgers would trade him.

And there’s salary to consider, too.  If the Twins slip in the American League Central, it’s possible they would put Carlos Correa on the trade block, but would St. Louis be willing to pay him over $215,000 per game, which is how his $35.1M salary breaks down?  That’s highly unlikely given ownership’s competitive-but-not-crazy payrolls.

Each of these conditions has some flexibility, so while being malleable, which players would be good contenders as trade acquisitions to alleviate the team’s concerns at the shortstop position?