Cardinals clearly competing with Yankees for final piece of roster puzzle

The St. Louis Cardinals' roster demolition may nearly be complete. The team has dealt Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan, leaving the Cardinals with nary an All-Star to boast. However, new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has expressed a desire to add a veteran right-handed-hitting outfielder through free agency or a trade. The free agent herd has thinned considerably over the past month, and only a few viable outfield options remain on the market. Further complicating matters is that the Cardinals are competing with another squad for these table scraps.

The Cardinals and the New York Yankees are battling for an outfielder who hits right-handed.

The Cardinals hold a lefty-heavy outfield, with Lars Nootbaar, Victor Scott and Nathan Church hitting left-handed and only Jordan Walker batting from the right side. The Cardinals added Nelson Velazquez to provide depth and are reportedly toying with the idea of providing outfield reps for Thomas Saggese, but a veteran presence remains lacking. The Cardinals' outfield needs could become more pressing if Nootbaar is unavailable at the start of the season while recovering from surgery on both of his heels.

Running parallel to the Cardinals in search of a right-handed outfield bench bat are the Yankees. Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham, their left fielder and center fielder, respectively, are left-handed hitters, while superstar Aaron Judge and projected fourth outfielder Jasson Dominguez bat right-handed.

The four free agents who look to fit the teams' needs are Miguel Andujar, Austin Slater, Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham. The Cardinals could also opt to execute a trade to acquire an outfielder for the short term, but they are unlikely to be willing to take on a hefty chunk of such a player's salary. An article in The Athletic from Katie Woo and Will Sammon indicated that the Cardinals would likely only be open to providing any outfield acquisition with a one- or two-year deal.

The Cardinals' rebuilding status could serve as both a lure and a repellent. Players obviously want to win, which could dissuade them from St. Louis, but those who are looking for playing time could find the Cardinals to be a better target than the Yankees given the Cardinals' dearth of options. Additionally, if Nootbaar performs adequately upon his return, the Cardinals could flip him at the trade deadline, which would provide further playing time for whomever the Cardinals choose to acquire.

The free agent pool continues to dwindle, and it could have one less player if the Yankees snag someone before the Cardinals do. Bloom has done an excellent job so far at beefing up the Cardinals' farm system, and as the young talent gets its feet wet at the lower levels, expect him to find a stopgap solution to soak up some plate appearances during what is likely to be a slog of a season.