5 St. Louis Cardinals most likely to be dealt at trade deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals will be buyers at the trade deadline, which means they will have to trade someone away. Let’s look at the five guys most likely to be dealt at the deadline.

The St. Louis Cardinals are a very good baseball team, but as the trade deadline approaches, it’s clear they need some upgrades. Pitching has been identified as the biggest need for this team, but no one would complain if they brought in another bat, either.

We’ve taken a look at various starters on the market. From Pablo Lopez to Luis Castillo to Martin Perez, there are multiple quality names out there to be acquired. However, none of these top arms will come for free. Luckily, the Cardinals have a deep 40-man roster and minor league system.

How much value does Paul DeJong have? Would the Cardinals part with a proven big leaguer like Harrison Bader? How about top prospects Jordan Walker or Mason Winn? Juan Yepez, Brendan Donovan, Matthew Liberatore, and Zack Thompson have all debuted this season– surely teams are interested in these rookies, too.

Each of these talented players – along with many others – are going to be mentioned in various trade rumors. But realistically, the Cardinals will hang onto the majority of them. Only a few members of the organization will be switching teams in a trade.

Let’s take a look at the five Cardinals most likely to be traded at this year’s deadline. Spoiler alert: unless Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto is a surprise target, these five will be enough to headline whatever deal John Mozeliak ends up making.

Alec Burleson

Drafted at the end of the second round in 2020, Alec Burleson was a two-way player at East Carolina. The Cardinals believed in his bat, and the 23 year old has proved them right.

Alec Burleson has done nothing but hit. The number eight prospect in the St. Louis system, Burleson has an OPS of .931 this season at Triple-A Memphis with 16 home runs. Those are absolutely outstanding numbers.

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The problem for Burleson, however, is that there is no current path for him to the big league team in St. Louis. Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt have the corner infield spots locked down, while Juan Yepez and Brendan Donovan took over the depth spots early this season and ran with the opportunity. Add in Nolan Gorman’s ceiling, Tyler O’Neil and Dylan Carlson in the corner outfield spots, plus Jordan Walker needing a place soon, and you can see the issue quite clearly.

As I mentioned, Burleson is currently ranked as the eighth best prospect on the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s clearly major-league ready, despite only two seasons in the minor leagues. While it would be a shame to lose this talented left-handed bat, the Cardinals should capitalize on Burleson’s value while they still can.

Unless the Cardinals suddenly lose faith in Yepez and Donovan, Burleson is almost a guarantee to be traded. If he’s not, then either the Cardinals didn’t do enough to make this team better, or something very unexpected has occurred.

As we discussed earlier with Alec Burleson, the Cardinals have great depth at the corner outfield spots. We’ve seen in the past a willingness to trade from a plentitutde of outfield prospects– in the past few years, the Cards have dealt Oscar Mercado, Lane Thomas, and of course, Randy Arozarena.

While injuries have tested the depth this season, the Cardinals still have a strange amount of outfielders who are major league ready. As in the past few seasons, there are two who stand out as candidates to be dealt.

Conner Capel

Conner Capel had a nice debut a few weeks ago. Could it also have been a demonstration of value to opposing clubs? The Cardinals traded for the No. 106 overall pick a few years back, and Capel has risen steadily through the minor league system. Despite the brief promotion to St. Louis this season, there are outfielders ahead of him, as well as top prospects behind him.

Capel plays solid defense at all three outfield spots, and has an OPS of .809 in Memphis this season. I have no doubt that he could become a legitimate major league outfielder. Capel might not bring back an ace, but could be the right price for more pitching depth at the deadline.

Scott Hurst

The other outfielder that fits this trend is Scott Hurst. A third round pick in 2017, Hurst is another left-handed hitting outfielder providing quality innings in Memphis.

While not the most well-known name in the Cardinal system, Hurst has been productive. Again, the path to major league playing time looks difficult, and it is unlikely that the 26 year old can break through to St. Louis soon. Like Capel, Hurst wouldn’t headline a package for a top-end starter, but he is a talented ballplayer that could bring back some much needed pitching depth.

Johan Oviedo

Although the Cardinals are pursuing more pitching and unlikely to take away from their current group, Oviedo would be likely to leave if an upgrade presented itself. The 24 year old has been solid, but the Cardinals haven’t trusted him yet with a major role.

Oviedo has been steady through the minors. The last two years at Triple-A, his stats have been almost identical– 10-12 games, over 50 strikeouts, a WHIP between 1.30 and 1.60, and a strangely high ERA over five. And in the majors, those trends have continued.

I have no idea if Oviedo’s ceiling is a back of the rotation starter or bullpen innings eater. There is no questioning his arm talent, however, and a team looking to acquire young, controllable talent would be happy to take a flyer on him. Of the guys on this list, Oviedo is the least likely to be traded. But he and Capel are the most likely to be traded of anyone on the 40-man roster.

Summary

The all-star break is a time for celebration, but for a contending team like the St. Louis Cardinals, it’s also a warning. There’s two weeks left to make adjustments to this year’s team. Whether they end up as major improvements or minor tweaks, there is no question that the Cardinals have to be active.

Gordon Graceffo and Alec Burleson would headline an exciting acquisition. Capel, Hurst, and Oviedo would bring back much-needed depth. Either way, these five are each valuable young ballplayers. We’ll see what kind of additions they bring when the Cardinals move them in the coming weeks.