St. Louis Cardinals: Argument for and Against Acquiring Juan Soto

The St. Louis Cardinals are heavily linked to a trade for Juan Soto – but what are the reasons for and against a trade for the Nationals superstar?

The St. Louis Cardinals have shown in recent years the prowess to go out and acquire superstar level players like Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. There is buzz around the league that St. Louis is a top destination for Nationals outfielder Juan Soto.

This topic is hot among both national media and local St. Louis coverage, and opinions go all over the place as to whether it is worth giving up the kind of prospect haul that will be necessary to acquire Juan Soto. The Athletics Jim Bowden broke down the potential package the Nationals will want in return, and to say its a historic haul would be an understatement.

Could the Cardinals do this kind of deal? Yes. Keith Law has speculated that the Cardinals have the assets to acquire any player in baseball, including Juan Soto. If the Cardinals want to make a deal for a superstar, they are positioned perhaps better than any other team in baseball.

The two questions that ultimately face the Cardinals in this situation are the following…

1. Will the Cardinals be willing to trade what is necessary to acquire Juan Soto?
2. Should the Cardinals be willing to trade whatever is necessary to acquire Soto?

These two questions are what plague Cardinal fans at the moment, and surely the front office of St. Louis. I got the opportunity to chat with John Mozeliak at at writer’s Q/A last week, and Mozeliak indicated that the front office would be open to trading for any player, the question is what is the cost? Competing with markets like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago is difficult enough, let along the prospect haul that would be facing the club.

Here is the argument for and against St. Louis acquiring Juan Soto at the trade deadline.