Cardinals Rumors: St. Louis Interested in Frankie Montas

The rumors keep flying in for the St. Louis Cardinals as the trade deadline quickly approaches, with Oakland Athletics starter Frankie Montas being the latest arm that the club is discussing acquiring.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required), the Cardinals and Yankees are two of the main teams looking into Montas, with other teams inquiring as well.

Montas has been a long-rumored target for St. Louis, stemming back to the fire sale that Oakland put on this offseason. Although he has been experiencing shoulder inflammation as of late, he still has a 3.18 ERA in 104.2 innings of work this season, making the right-hander a prime candidate to upgrade the St. Louis rotation.

Out of all of the rumored names on the market, Montas has always seemed to be the starter most likely moved before August 2nd. As the A’s continue to tear down their major league roster and retool their farm system, Montas is their most valuable piece remaining, and may never hold as much value as he does right now.

While there are other names that seem to be available on the market, with so many teams needing pitching help, Montas will likely come at a high price for any potential suitors. Montas has been a very productive pitcher and has one more year of club control remaining, making him more than just a stretch-run rental for St. Louis.

St. Louis’ need for starting pitching is so glaring right now that they are linked to almost every pitcher on the market, but it appears there is a greater level of interest in Montas than most others on the market for the Cardinals. Here is why the Cardinals must strongly consider acquiring the Athletics ace.