Cardinals: St. Louis listed as potential destination for these 3 stars

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden listed the St. Louis Cardinals as a player for three of today’s stars via trade this offseason.

The St. Louis Cardinals are no stranger to being linked to today’s biggest stars. They acquired both Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in recent years via trade, and were a major player for Juan Soto at the 2022 trade deadline.

With the Cardinals emerging as a major contender this season, many around the league are beginning to speculate about how the club could launch themselves from “one of the teams in the mix” to a World Series favorite this offseason. With a great core in play for future seasons, as well as an elite farm system, the club has the ability to make major moves.

In a piece posted on The Athletic (paid subscription required) by former MLB GM and current MLB Insider Jim Bowden, he talked about five stars who may find themselves on the trade market this offseason, and listed the Cardinals as contenders for three of them.

Here are three stars that St. Louis may be in play for this offseason, and what it may take to acquire each of these players.

Shohei Ohtani

I recently wrote about how the Cardinals would be the perfect trade destination for Mike Trout, but the trade that will likely happen first is that of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani is one of the most unique talents we have ever seen, providing the Angels with a Cy Young level ace and MVP level bat in their lineup. It’s like trading for Max Scherzer and Yordan Alvarez, but in the form of one player.

If it wasn’t for one of the greatest hitting seasons of all-time by Aaron Judge, Ohtani would be on his way to back to back MVPs. He is slashing .266/.357/.534 with 34 HR and 89 RBI at the plate and dominating on the mound with a 2.43 ERA and 196 SO in just 148 innings of work.

Ohtani will surely require a trade package similar to, it not more than, what the Nationals got in return for Juan Soto. If the Cardinals are serious about going all-in for 2023, Ohtani would be the best possible addition to their squad. He would provide St. Louis with the legit ace they are lacking, as well as a third star level bat their lineup.

This trade of the three seems the most unlikely though, as Ohtani is a free agent after 2023 and will surely look to sign with a team on the west or east coast. The prospect package is far too great for a guy who will likely leave St. Louis, but if the Angels don’t get what they want from other teams, St. Louis may be in play.

Pablo Lopez

There were rumors circulating at the 2022 deadline that the Cardinals were in play for Miami Marlins right-hander Pablo Lopez, but the club decided to hold onto their starter for the time being.

In his 18 starts before the All-Star break, Lopez was 6-4 with an ERA of 2.86 in 104 innings of work. Since the break though, his ERA has been 6.07 in 11 starts and has not looked like his dominate self. Many believe that Lopez is suffering from a mix of fatigue and having little to play for the last few weeks. Lopez has already surpassed his career high in innings by 50 this season and the Marlins are no longer contenders for the playoffs.

The bright side of this second half is that Lopez is stretching out his arm to become the kind of pitcher who can lead a staff for a full season. St. Louis has multiple starters in their rotation who can be the second, third, or fourth best pitcher on a contender, but lack someone who can match up with other contending team’s aces. Lopez could be that guy for St. Louis.

It has been rumored since before the season that the Marlins really want a new centerfielder, making Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, or Lars Nootbaar prime candidates for a Lopez trade. Lopez will require a pretty sizeable package due to his remaining team control, but would fill one of St. Louis’ biggest holes as they look to improve for 2023.