4 ways the St. Louis Cardinals can win the trade deadline

Get Tampa Bay’s Tyler Glasnow for 2023

Now this is a bit of a bold take, but if you’re President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak and General Manager Mike Girsch, you have to always explore options for making your club better in future seasons. 2023 and 2024 looks to be prime contention years for the Cardinals, and they may have the perfect assets currently to get a deal done for an ace like Tyler Glasnow and not hurt their chances in 2022.

Glasnow is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and there is a chance the right hander could return late this season in a reduced role. Before his elbow injury last season, the 28 year old was a strong contender for the AL Cy Young, with his ERA sitting at 2.66 and having 123 SO in 88 inngings of work.

The Cardinals could use this kind of pitcher in 2022, but will desperately need one in 2023. The club hopes Jack Flaherty can return to that this year or next, and there is still uncertainty about the return of Adam Wainwright next season or if Miles Mikolas can keep up his form. Trading for an injured pitcher may seem like it is compounding those issues, but the Cardinals should be able to roll the dice for a discount.

Sending center fielder Harrison Bader and top 100 prospect Alec Burleson could be the foundation for a trade for the Rays star. The Rays have battled injuries to their lineup all season long, and would love for Bader to take over in center field and allow Burleson to come up and mash at DH or the corner outfield spots. With Glasnow approaching free agency after 2023 and a wealth of MLB ready and up and coming arms, the Rays can afford to part with Glasnow.

The Cardinals have a wealth of options for the lineup right now, and with Bader battling plantar fasciitis, there is no guarantee he will be a major contributor the rest of the year. Burleson is ready to play everyday in the majors, but there is no spot on the Cardinals roster.

For those who worry that the right hander cannot bounce back, Glasnow is already back on the mound throwing bullpen sessions and will be more than ready to rock and roll in 2023, if not this season. Clubs have to take shots one high level players when they can in order to contend, and this appears to be a perfect opportunity to do so for St. Louis.