5 shortstop trade options the St. Louis Cardinals should consider

Nick Ahmed, Arizona Diamondbacks and others

There are several other shortstops who could be both available and beneficial to the Cardinals.  Each has questions that would need to be answered in the next couple of months: Are they available?  What would the trade cost be?  And most importantly, what skills would they bring to St. Louis?

Nick Ahmed of the Arizona Diamondbacks has long been viewed as a strong defender, but his offense only recently has approached average.  And his salaries for this year and next are higher than DeJong’s.

The Cleveland Guardians have Amed Rosario and several other middle-infield options at the big-league and minor league levels.  Would they be willing to move Rosario to improve other parts of their roster and while giving their younger players opportunities?

Jose Iglesias isn’t a flashy player, and his signing with the Colorado Rockies didn’t make any bold-print headlines.  But he’s been surprisingly competent with the bat the last few years while being something around average with the glove.

Can Gleyber Torres still play shortstop?  Would it be worth trying?  Probably not.

Could the Cardinals pry Ha-Seong Kim from the Padres, Gavin Lux from the Dodgers?  For a price, certainly.  For a price St. Louis’ front office would be willing to pay?  Not likely.

Another factor to consider in this pursuit is the Los Angeles Angels, who may be looking for a similar upgrade but with greater desperation to make a move while Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani are among the game’s best players.  They may be willing to outbid St. Louis to get a player they really want.

There’s not an obvious shortstop target for the Cardinals to acquire, either because of skills, trade cost, salary, or a combination of all these factors.  But the next two months will make it clear whether overpaying is a viable strategy or if standing pat is the path to pursue.