Grading reader submitted trade proposals for the Cardinals

Let’s grade some reader submitted trade proposals for the Cardinals

With the off-season upon us, St. Louis Cardinals fans will have to go a few months without seeing their favorite team play. To keep ourselves busy, this time of year tends to churn up a variety of trade ideas and proposals that we would love to see the Cardinals make. Maybe it’s targeting a superstar player, adding a piece to the edges to round out the roster, or just shipping out that player that has given you so much frustration.

I asked on Twitter the other day for readers to submit their trade proposals for the Cardinals this off-season, and that I would grade their ideas in this article. As you can imagine, the replies to this tweet ranged from GM level ideas to the good ole “trade Paul DeJong for any superstar straight up”. Gotta love Cardinals Twitter.

I’ll be grading each idea based on if the idea makes sense for the Cardinals and if the trade package matches the compensation I believe it would take to get the deal done. Obviously trading a guy like DeJong for Shohei Ohtani would be an A+ for St. Louis, but its not happening.

If you end up liking this idea and want to see more reader ideas on the site, comment below and submit your own ideas, and we can do this again in the coming weeks. Here are my grades for some of the trades submitted on Twitter.

Two proposals for Sean Murphy

Trade #1

Submitted by @caden_schro

Cardinals receive: C Sean Murphy

Athletics receive:  RHP Tink Hence, RHP Dakota Hudson, C Andrew Knizner 

Grade: C-

This deal is on the right track, but based on how competitive of a trade market it is going to be for Sean Murphy this off-season, this deal just would not get the job done.

In order to get Murphy off of Oakland’s hands, it will likely take a centerpiece like Nolan Gorman or Maysn Winn, and then 2-3 more prospects on top of that. Cardinal fans have not seen much of the Athletics’ catcher, but Murphy is an elite talent in the game today. There are very few catcher that can hit like Murphy can while also playing Gold Glove defense behind the plate.

The 28-year old posted a 122 wRC+ in 2022, 4th among all catchers. Two of the catchers that finished in front of him, Alejandro Kirk and Will Smith, do not catch the majority of their team’s games like Murphy and are not anywhere close to Murphy as a defender. The only catcher who can truly compare to Murphy with his all-around game is J.T. Realmuto.

Again, love the idea, but take out Hudson and Knizner, and add in a guy like Gorman and one other prospect, and that deal may get done.

Trade #2

Submitted by @RITyson

Cardinals receive: C Sean Murphy

Athletics receive: 2B/3B Nolan Gorman, LHP Matthew Liberatore, and RHP Jake Woodford

Grade: B+

Using the same reasoning from above, the centerpiece of Gorman here is a much better starting place for a deal with Oakland, and both Matthew Liberatore and Jake Woodford should be intriguing arms for them. Love the value for the Cardinals here, but I think it would take one more prospect to get the deal done. @RITyson also suggested the Cardinals sign Josh Bell to bat 5th in the order, making their off-season really interesting.

Cardinals go after one of Miami’s starting pitchers

Trade #1

Submitted by @NathanAbert

Cardinals receive: RHP Pablo Lopez

Marlins receive: 2B/3B Nolan Gorman and LHP Mathew Liberatore 

Grade: B+

If the Cardinals want to go out and get a front-line starter this off-season, calling the Miami Marlins about Pablo Lopez would be a great place to start.

In 2022, Lopez went 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA and 161 SO in 160 innings of work. Lopez was dominant in the first half of the season, but after passing his career high in innings, began to tail off as Miami was falling out of the race. Building up endurance in his arm and playing for a contender will likely keep Lopez on his A-game late into the season.

It is unclear what exactly Miami would want back for Lopez. They have indicated a desire for a center fielder in the past, so a guy like Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, or Lars Nootbaar could be an interesting centerpiece to this deal.

I am sure the Marlins would have a lot of interest in Nolan Gorman though, and he could be the third baseman of the future with Jazz Chisholm already at second base. Matthew Liberatore is a solid second piece in this deal, but they would likely need one more prospect to pull the trigger on a deal like this.

Overall, I like the value of this deal. I personally would hold onto Gorman unless it was for a catcher, or a top tier stater, but cashing him in for Lopez is understandable.

Trade #2

Submitted by @bobwalpert1

Cardinals receive: RHP Pablo Lopez and LHP Andrew Nardi

Marlins receive: OF Lars Nootbaar and OF Moises Gomez

Grade: A-

As I stated above, I think the Marlins would prefer an outfielder in a deal for Lopez, and Miami gets too in the form of  Nootbaar and Moises Gomez. Nootbaar gives them an exciting young bat who could be their new everyday center fielder, while Miami also nags MiLB’s home run leader in 2022 in Gomez who could give some much needed power to their lineup.

I personally think it’ll take a bit more than this, but I think this is great framework for a deal. The Cardinals also snag left-handed reliever Andrew Nardi, who has been really good throughout the minor-leagues but struggled in his 14.2 MLB innings this last year.

St. Louis gets one of Toronto’s surplus of catchers

Submitted by @dansaint5879

Cardinals receive: C Alejandro Kirk

Blue Jays receive: 2B/3B Nolan Gorman and a mid-tier prospect

Grade: A-

This looks like something that could get pulled off in the coming weeks and months between the Cardinals and the Blue Jays. If Gorman’s name was replaced with Dylan Carlson or Lars Nootbaar, this trade would have received and even better grade. Alejandro Kirk would be a fantastic addition for the Cardinals.

The Blue Jays just let go of two outfielders, non-tendered Raimel Tapia and trading away Teoscar Hernandez. Toronto really wants to bring in a left-handed, outfield bat, and that has led many to believe that the Cardinals could be perfect trade partners with the Blue Jays. Even so, grabbing an emerging bat like Gorman may be too appealing for Toronto to be picky about positional fit.

The Cardinals desperately need a catcher this offseason, and they could kill two birds with one stone by also getting the impact bat they need in Kirk. The recently turned 24-year old slashed .285/.372/.415 with 14 HR and 63 RBI for Toronto last season and was named an American League All-Star and the AL Silver Slugger at catcher. The Cardinals would go from one of the worst hitting situations at catcher in 2022 to one of the best in baseball in 2023, a dramatic improvement for the club.

I still think Toronto would want Nootbaar or Carlson in a deal, but if this trade were to go down, I would not be surprised in the least.

Cardinals bring in another superstar from a struggling West Coast team

Submitted by @BigZies34

Cardinals receive: OF Mike Trout

Angels receive: 2B/3B Nolan Gorman, OF Dylan Carlson, OF/DH Alec Burleson, LHP Matthew Liberatore, OF Moises Gomez, C Andrew Knizner 

Grade: B

I am grading this trade based in a world where the Angels decide they are going to listen to offers on Mike Trout (which I do believe will happen in the next 1-3 seasons). The package is actually pretty realistic for what it could take to get Trout, but I do think there are some adjustments needed.

First, Trout still has 8 years, $283 million left on his contract entering his age-31 season. Pair that with struggling to stay healthy the last few seasons, I do think the Angels would have to eat some of Trout’s contract in order to get a package like this. It’s one thing to sign Trout to that kind of deal at this age, which a lot of teams would, it’s a whole other thing to trade a lot of value for that kind of contract.

If the Angels ate some of that contract, similar to how the Rockies did. If the Angels ate between 20%-25% of Trout’s money, that would take his AAV down between $24-$28 million a year, which would be very manageable for St. Louis, considering they are adding the best player of this generation.

Trout, even after missing some time with injury and having a cold-stretch in June, slashed .283/.369/.630 with 40 HR and 80 RBI in just 119 games for the Angels. Imagine putting him in a lineup with Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, surrounded by guys like Jordan Walker, Tyler O’Neill, Tommy Edman, and Brendan Donovan. Easily the best lineup in baseball.

The Angels may need a bit more value to eat that much of Trout’s contract, but I do think this gets St. Louis close to a deal. I’ll be anxious to see what happens if Trout ever gets shopped by the Angels.

Cardinals take a flyer on a former MVP

Submitted by @caden_schro

Cardinals receive: OF Cody Bellinger 

Dodgers receive: OF/DH Alec Burleson

Grade: C+

Trade was submitted before Bellinger was non-tendered by the Dodgers.

This is an interesting idea again from @caden_schro, as the Cardinals could see if a change of scenery helps Cody Bellinger regain any of his All-Star or even MVP as a left-handed bat in their lineup. There’s a few reasons why I did not grade this idea higher, although definitely an A-grade for creativity.

First, the Cardinals already have so much uncertainty in their outfielder. Adding Bellinger, especially for a prospect like Burleson, means you are committing to giving him consistent at-bats to prove himself, and that is on top of finding time for guys like Jordan Walker, Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, Lars Nootbaar, and Juan Yepez. I am not sure they can afford to cross their fingers on another guy.

Second, Bellinger is projected $18.1 million in arbitration next year. Unless he can come to an agreement with Los Angeles before the trade and then they eat most of that money, that is way too much to pay a guy who has been bad the last few years.

Third, there is a really good chance the Dodgers non-tender Bellinger and he hits the open market. So if St. Louis really was interested, they’d be better suited waiting for him to hit the open market, rather than trade a prospect for him. I will bet any bidding war for Bellinger would not come anywhere close to that $18.1 million mark.

Conclusion

It was fun to think alongside you all about potential moves for the Cardinals this off-season. If you liked this idea and want to participate in a future addition, let me know in the comments below and I’ll mark down your proposals.