A (not-so-brief) history of in-division trades for the St. Louis Cardinals

Trades between two teams in the same division in Major League Baseball are rare. For the St. Louis Cardinals, these trades are even more rare.

It's not as though the Cardinals haven't made in-division trades, it's just that they've tried to avoid it for the most part. Since the turn of the century, the Cardinals have primarily made moves to improve their major-league squad at the expense of their minor league affiliates. This has meant trading away young prospects for proven veterans.

Usually, trading prospects has gone well for the Cardinals. Trades that brought over Jim Edmonds, Matt Holliday, Paul Goldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado went quite well for St. Louis. The risk in trading young players, however, comes in seeing their careers come to fruition in the twilight of the veterans' careers. We all remember the trade for Marcell Ozuna and the trade of Adolis Garcia.

This fear of the unknown is what has hampered the Cardinals in dealing with their rivals since 1996, the year the DeWitt family took over ownership of the St. Louis Cardinals. The trades haven't been nonexistent, but they certainly haven't been plentiful. Between Walt Jocketty and John Mozeliak, the trades between the St. Louis Cardinals and any one of the four teams in their division can be counted on a total of two hands and two feet.

There have been whispers already this offseason, Chaim Bloom's first as President of Baseball Operations, that the Cardinals could reach out and maybe strike a deal with a rival for the first time in several years. With so many major leaguers who could contribute to a major-league roster who could be available this winter, it's only logical for Chaim to field all offers from all teams regardless of divisional proximity.

Before we take a look back at trades the Cardinals have made with divisional rivals since 1996, let's first take a peek at what Chaim Bloom has done in terms of trading with former divisional rivals.

Chaim Bloom's past in-division trades

Chaim Bloom was appointed the Chief Baseball Officer for the Boston Red Sox in late October, 2019. We all know of his most infamous trade, the one that sent superstar Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a splattering of prospects who didn't pan out. However, his history of trading with the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Baltimore Orioles is less lengthy and less abhorrent.

Bloom executed only two in-division trades during his five years with the Red Sox: one with the Yankees and another with the Rays.

In January of 2021, Bloom acquired reliever Adam Ottavino and prospect Frank German from the New York Yankees for cash and a player to be named later.

Later that same year, Bloom flipped pitchers Jeffrey Springs and Chris Mazza to the Rays for prospects Ronaldo Hernandez and Nick Sogard. Springs pitched well for the Rays before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL in August.

Chaim Bloom hasn't made too many in-division trades as a top executive, but that shouldn't preclude him from wheeling and dealing within the National League Central this winter.