5 wild trades the St. Louis Cardinals should consider to accelerate their reset

The Cardinals get a true middle-of-the-order bat

The last time the Cardinals were in a retool situation, they acquired one of the best sluggers in the game from Oakland, Mark McGwire.

I've found it really interesting that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold (subscription required) was checking in to see what a Brent Rooker trade would look like for the Cardinals prior to their public declaration of a reset. Even so, Goold alluded to Gorman being a piece that would make sense for Oakland.

Rooker, despite turning 30 a few weeks ago, does not hit free agency until 2028 and is coming off back-to-back seasons elite seasons at the plate. In 2023, Rooker slashed .246/.329/.488 with 30 home runs and a 126 wRC+. He then followed that up with a .293/.365/.562 with 39 home runs and 112 RBI with a 164 wRC+. Rooker's bat is game-changing and even without playing in the outfield, he was a 5.1 fWAR player.

Rooker being a primary designated hitter makes him an odd trade candidate. With the situation Oakland is in, Rooker is unlikely to be a part of their next contending team, and being able to flip him into multiple intriguing pieces would be beneficial for their long-term future.

I put Gorman in this deal and paired him with Alec Burleson, giving the Athletics two intriguing young bats with different profiles from the left side. Burleson is the high-contact hitter who brings above-average power while Gorman is the elite power and on-base guy. If the Cardinals bring in a guy like Rooker, fitting Gorman and Burleson into their lineup becomes much more difficult, but Oakland would have plenty of opportunities for them.

Tekoah Roby comes in as the third piece of this puzzle, giving Oakland a high-upside arm that also comes with a lot of risk due to the arm injuries he's had so far in his career. The Cardinals possessing Quinn Matthews, Tink Hence, Andre Pallante, Cooper Hjerpe, Michael McGreevy, and other intriguing young arms making parting with Roby less daunting.

A lineup featuring Rooker, Contreras, Nootbaar, Donovan, Winn, Herrera, and Walker has the potential to be a really dynamic group and would be under control for a long time. Losing Gorman and Burleson would hurt, but consolidating them into a truly elite bat who excels with runners in scoring position could vault their lineup from bottom third in baseball up to the middle of the pack or better immediately. That's a risk that may be worth taking.

With Thomas Saggese in St. Louis now and the likes of JJ Wetherholt and Chase Davis on the way, it makes sense to combine some of these young bats and flip them into a bigger fish.