Cardinals: Could Jesse Winker be the left-handed bat St. Louis needs?

While most of the attention has been on the free agent market for a left-handed bat, the Cardinals may find their answer on the trade market with Jesse Winker

While the St. Louis Cardinals pursue upgrades for their lineup this off-season, one their main areas of focus is adding a left-handed bat to their lineup. While most of the focus has been on free agents, there is a trade candidate who would be an intriguing fit in St. Louis – Jesse Winker.

Winker, traded to the Seattle Mariners last offseason, had a down year in 2022, batting just .219/.344/.344 with 14 HR and 53 RBI in 136 games for the club. Many Cardinal fans know Winker for being at the heart of the Cincinnati Reds order for the last few years, and he could be the perfect player to provide protection for sluggers Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in 2023.

Seattle’s President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto is known to make a lot of trades to aggressively improve his roster, and he already identified outfield as a major area of concern this off-season. Even after a Teoscar Hernandez deal, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported they are still interested in adding other outfield options as well, including putting Winker in trade talks.

Outside of outfield help, it is not totally clear what kind of upgrades the Mariners would want, but there is rumors that moving off Jesse Winker is more than just about upgrading other areas of their roster. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported that Winker had issues within the Mariners club house over the course of the season, so moving off of Winker may be in the interest of chemistry for Seattle.

Let’s look at at why Winker’s bat would be such a great addition to the Cardinals lineup, and what it may cost to go and get him.