5 most untouchable players on the St. Louis Cardinals in trade talks

The St. Louis Cardinals have arguably some of the best assets in all of baseball. Who are the top five untouchable players in the organization?

July 4 often signifies the time of year what the hot stove cranks up a few notches for teams around Major League Baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals are arguably one of the best positioned teams in terms of assets in all of baseball, with a great mix of superstar level talent, elite young big leaguers, and top level prospects. This makes for a very interesting question…

Who are the most untouchable Cardinals in the organization?

There are two major reasons the Cardinals have been able to accumulate so many elite assets. First, their player development system continues to be one of the best in the game, churning out elite prospects as well as lower level prospects who become household names.

The other reason the club has held onto so much talent is they are patient when making moves, typically acquiring high level talent at a discounted price. The team rarely has come out losers in trades, especially the last few seasons.

St. Louis is in an interesting spot as teams approach the 2022 trade deadline. The team has clear needs in the starting rotation and bullpen if they want to compete for a World Series title, but the market does not appear to have a ton of elite level arms that would be available. This leaves the club in a tough spot. Do they overpay for a higher level arm that won’t quite be one of the best in the game? Or do they settle for a lower tier player and hold onto their own elite talent and prospects?

Sometimes lists like these can appear simple, but these rankings are not simply just the five best players on the Cardinals. Questions of team control, salary, and potential begin to play a major role in who can be seen as the most untouchable assets in any given organization.

While many could have gone on this list, honorable mentions for this list include Dylan Carlson, Brendan Donovan, Tyler O’Neill, Maysn Winn, and Ryan Helsley. Here are the five most untouchable Cardinals players as of today.