Cardinals: How rumored trade targets have played since trade deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals made a few moves at the deadline, but there were other rumored moves that would have panned out differently.

The St. Louis Cardinals were active at the MLB trade deadline, acquiring Jordan Montgomery, Jose Quintana, and Chris Stratton to bolster their roster for the postseason. These were not necessarily the names that Cardinal fans had been hoping for or planning on their team acquiring, but the moves have paid dividends.

On August 2nd, the Cardinals sat 2 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, and as of September 12th, now hold an 8 game lead. Needless to say, their trade deadline worked out incredibly well.

Even so, there were plenty of rumored trade targets for St. Louis in the month leading up to the deadline. Big names, depth pieces, and everything in between were suggested for St. Louis to acquire in order to bolster their chances at making the postseason.

How have some of these players faired since the deadline? Are there any players that St. Louis may wish they had acquire? Here are how five of the Cardinals rumored targets have played since the trade deadline.

Noah Syndergaard

Noah Syndergaard is a big name St. Louis was rumored to acquire both at the trade deadline and in the offseason, but his play in 2022 has not matched up with the value his name carries.

Since being acquired by the Philadelphia Phillies, Syndergaard has gone 4-1 but has a 4.61 ERA in 41 innings of work. Although the Phillies did not have to give up much to acquire the right-hander, he has been far from the kinds of pitchers that Montgomery and Quintana have been for St. Louis.

Had St. Louis acquired Syndergaard, perhaps he would have found some of the same magic that those Cardinals starters have found. His 3.39 FIP with Philadelphia shows that me may be a better pitcher than stats are showing at the moment, but he likely would not have been the same success for the club that their other acquisitions have been.

Frankie Montas

The Oakland Athletics had a fire sale during the 2021-2022 offseason, and many expected them to move on from Frankie Montas at some point during the 2022 season. The Cardinals were often mentioned as a strong fit for the right-hander, but he was eventually dealt to the New York Yankees in a deal that included three of the Yankees top 10 prospects. 

Montas has been bad so far for the Yankees, going 1-3 with a 5.94 ERA across 36.1 innings of work. Like Soto, Montas joined the Yankees as they began a downward spiral this last month, but his performance has not helped them turn things around. Montas was one of the top starters available at the deadline and supposed to put a team in prime World Series contention, but has been nowhere near that standard.

The irony here is that St. Louis, because of the Montas trade, were able to acquire Montgomery from the Yankees, who has been brilliant for the Cardinals. Since the deadline, Montgomery is 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA in 43.1 innings of work, outclassing Montas in almost every way. So much for being the expendable starter on the Yankees’ staff.

Luis Castillo

Pitching for the division rival Cincinnati Reds the last six seasons, Luis Castillo has developed into one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, and was going to be moved at the deadline to the highest bidder. Although it was a longshot that St. Louis would acquire a player of this level from a division foe, the Mariners made that conversation even easier after sending a large package to Cincinnati for the 29-year old.

The Mariners package included a top 20 prospect in all of baseball in Noelvi Marte as well as other highly regarded prospects to jumpstart the Reds rebuild. Castillo has not disappointed so far though, going 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 43.1 innings for the AL West contenders. Castillo is a huge reason the Mariners could go deep into October this year, something the club desperately needed due to their playoff drought.

Most talent evaluators would agree that Castillo is a better pitcher than Jordan Montgomery, but its hard to beat the value that St. Louis found. The only cost to the Cardinals was center fielder Harrison Bader, rather than a loaded prospect package that would have depleted their farm system. They have had to top the Reds package, meaning Jordan Walker is likely in the deal, which is not worth it for a year and a half of Castillo.

Based on player performance, the Cardinals would love to have Castillo on their staff with the likes of Montgomery, Wainwright, Mikolas, and Flaherty, but for the price point it would have cost, the Cardinals seemed to have made the right decision.

Josh Bell

In early July, the Cardinals were reportedly in conversations with the Washington Nationals, looking to upgrade their offense. Remember, this was before news broke that the Nationals were going to trade Soto, meaning they were discussing other bats, namely Josh Bell.

Bell ended up being dealt to the Padres in the mega-deal for Soto. At the time, it was easy to see why the Cardinals would be interested. Bell was a switch-hitter in a contract year who was slashing .301/.384/.493 with 14 HR and 57 RBI for one of the worst teams in baseball. The Cardinals were struggling to find consistent offense from anyone not named Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, so an upgrade at the corner outfield spots or DH was in the cards.

Since being dealt to the Padres, Bell has underwhelmed, slashing .205/.322/.307 with 3 HR and 11 RBIs. Had Bell not been placed in a deal with Soto, maybe he would have gone on to produce at a similar level as he did with Washington with less pressure on him, but regardless, his numbers currently are not cutting it.

For St. Louis, they have seem guys like Albert Pujols, Lars Nootbaar, Corey Dickerson, and Brendan Donovan really step up to provide a deep lineup for the club since the deadline. Could the Cardinals use another bat? Sure, but the upgrades they made to their pitching staff have been much needed.

When you look at the Cardinals acquisitions at the deadline, it is easy to give them an “A” grade for the talent they were able to acquire. When you compare who they brought in for who they passed on, that really begins to say a lot about the talent evaluation and patience of the St. Louis front office.