Cardinals: One move they don’t want to see each NL contender make

Atlanta Braves: Jacob deGrom

Speaking of Jacob deGrom, the Atlanta Braves have been heavily linked to the 34-year old for months now, and would become the favorites in the National League if they are able to pry him away from the Mets.

The Braves already have one of the best rotations in baseball with Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright, and Charlie Morton, and could turn into a historic level rotation with the addition of deGrom. The club’s biggest free agent, Dansby Swanson, already has multiple internal replacements ready to go, and the Braves have the luxury of maintaining one of the best lineups in baseball, even without him. The opportunity to go from elite to historic with their starting pitching is one they will likely not pass on.

If Atlanta gets deGrom, its hard to imagine a world where the Cardinals beat the Braves in the playoffs. The Braves lineup is deeper than the Cardinals, rotation would be miles better, and bullpen has the swing and miss stuff St. Louis lacks.

Philadelphia Phillies: Trea Turner

The Philadelphia Phillies went on a magical run through the National League playoffs after defeating the Cardinals in two games in the Wild Card Series, but fell short to the World Series Champion Astros in 6 games.

Even after handing out big contracts to Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Zach Wheeler, Nick Castellanos, and Aaron Nola, the club has flexibility to go out and make another superstar signing, being linked currently to Trea Turner. Turner would make an already formidable lineup that much scarier, and would put the Phillies in a strong position to compete for the World Series once again.

Not only is Turner the Cardinals should be looking to sign, but Turner going to Philadelphia would only increase the gap between them and St. Louis. The Cardinals already lag behind the Phillies two aces, and adding Turner would give the Phillies five elite bats, something the Cardinals can’t compete with right now.

In general, the Cardinals should be weary for the Phillies making a huge splash, but Turner specifically would be a huge blow to the Cardinals chances of getting out of the Wild Card round next season.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani

This is cheating a little bit, as the Angels just came out and said they are not trading Shohei Ohtani this offseason. But barring a huge offseason or big turn around in early 2023, Ohtani will be a hot trade candidate by July. It feels like its only a matter of time before Ohtani is a Dodger.

The Dodgers have a ton of free agents this winter: Trea Turner, Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Anderson, Joey Gallo, Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Heaney, and others are names that may not be in Dodger blue next year. Its inevitable that the Dodgers go out and make a big signing or two, along with bringing back some of these names. It’s just what the Dodgers due.

The scariest proposition for the Cardinals and the rest of baseball is if they pool their assets together and grab Ohtani from the Angels. Ohtani would give the Dodgers yet another elite starter and middle of the order bat, all in the form of one player. Ohtani would become an even bigger star in today’s game and make the Dodgers the clear favorites in all of baseball.

The Dodgers are always among the favorites in baseball, but something about adding Ohtani to guys stars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Julio Urias, and Walker Buehler would make them a whole different animal. They’d have far and away the best player in baseball on their roster, all anyone could do would be cross their fingers that the Dodgers underachieve somehow.

San Diego Padres: Corbin Burnes

The San Diego Padres are already adding a superstar to their lineup with the return of Fernando Tatis Jr. early in the 2023 season. Their lineup already has an elite trio in Tatis, Juan Soto, and Manny Machado, and has the supplemental pieces needed in their lineup. Their pitching is deep and elite as well, but like the Braves, acquiring a guy like Corbin Burnes in a trade takes their rotation to a whole new level.

Burnes is already finding himself in trade rumors as his value is at its peak and the Brewers may be facing a rebuild. As scary as it is to have to face him within the NL Central, the Cardinals have their eyes set on playoff contenders, and Burnes presence on the Padres would elevate them to a World Series favorite.

The trio of Burnes, Joe Musgrove, and Yu Darvish at the top of the Padres rotation might be the best trio of starters in all of baseball. Their ability to shut down opposing offenses would be unmatched, and their lineup could put up runs against anyone.

Even after the historic Soto trade, the Padres have enough ammunition to make one more blockbuster move to go all-in with this team, and it would not be surprising to see them throw those assets at Burnes.