MLB Insider says Cardinals will pursue star shortstops in offseason

The St. Louis Cardinals have money to spend this offseason, and an MLB insider is reporting they will be in on the superstar shortstop market.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the St. Louis Cardinals are expected to join a number of teams in pursuing the top shortstops on the market this offseason – Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, and Dansby Swanson.

The Cardinals have been utilizing breakout star Tommy Edman as their primary shortstop this season, but could use a major upgrade at the position and move Edman back to second base. St. Louis already has one of the best lineups in all of baseball, but adding one more major bat at the shortstop position would allow them to compete with the likes of the Dodgers and Braves in the National League.

Here are the different shortstops available this offseason and what it may take to get each of them for St. Louis.

Trea Turner

The best shortstop available this offseason. Trea Turner would not only be an huge upgrade at shortstop for St. Louis, but he would be the perfect fit for their lineup as well.

The 29-year old is slashing .300/.345/.471 with 20 HR, 97 RBI and 26 SB on the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Turner would slot in as the perfect leadoff or two hole hitter for St. Louis, areas of their lineup that have been in constant turnover all season.

Turner is a great defensive shortstop as well with the flexibility to play second base and the outfield as well. In recent seasons, Turner has had his OPS above .900 and OBP close to .400. Turner is an elite player who can make a true MV3 with Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.

The two major issues for St. Louis in pursuing Turner is his price tag and desire to play on the East Coast. Turner has openly talked about his desire to return to the East Coast at some point, and it’s hard to imagine a market outside of Los Angeles keeping him away from there. The way to do that would be to make him an offer he cannot refuse, and Turner is already expected to receive a deal approaching $300 million.

Unlike last year’s shortstop market, Turner is the kind of player who can live up to a $300 million deal. The question would really be whether or not St. Louis is comfortable with that number, and if Turner would come to play there.

Carlos Correa

The former Astros star and current Twins shortstop Carlos Correa has got to be the most polarizing name on this list due to the Houston cheating scandal. The aftermath of this may actually make him the best value of the bunch as well.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees do not want Correa. Both of these teams were directly impacted by the cheating scandal and he would not work in their clubhouse. This removes two of the highest bidders from the equation. Correa wants a long-term deal, and if he chooses to go that route this time around, he will not get the money he would hope for.

Correa is quietly putting up another 5+ WAR season and slashing .286/.363/.461 with 21 HR and 61 RBI for Minnesota this season. Correa, like the other shortstops on this list, plays great defense at the position, giving even more value for any suitors. Correa is the youngest of the bunch as well, just turning 28-years old last week.

Fans will have mixed opinions on Correa being a Cardinal. Correa proved this offseason he is willing to go wherever the best offer is, and whether it’s a short term deal with high AAV or a long-term deal at a lower number than he’d like, Correa could provide elite production at incredible value for St. Louis.

Dansby Swanson

After being selected #1 overall in the 2015 MLB draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Swanson was traded to the Atlanta Braves in the Shelby Miller trade but bounced back and forth from being a productive player to a bit of a disappointment. In 2022 though, Swanson has been an All-Star level player who’s ready for a big contract.

Swanson on the season is hitting .276./.328/.435 with 22 HR and 92 RBI on the season for the reigning champions. Swanson has been a good postseason player as well, with a career .768 OPS in 121 postseason at-bats.

Swanson scares me a bit as he has not been consistently great until the last two seasons and the pandemic shortened 2020. This could be a case of a player coming into his own at age 28, but he also could be peaking an on the decline after a few years into his major contract.

Swanson will likely get the smallest contract of the four shortstops, unless Correa signs another short deal at a high AAV. He has been a great player over the last few seasons and a clear upgrade to the Cardinals lineup, not to mention a chance to take him away from a fellow NL contender.