Cardinals could cash in on Andre Pallante's trade value with familiar trade partner

The MLB offseason officially began and what Chaim Bloom does prior to December 1 could tell a big story. Front office personnel may wish to get out ahead of the work stoppage and throw money into the free agent market or they may sit on their wallets until there is more clarity on the 2027 season.

A third possibility could be more activity on the trade market. As teams try to balance future payroll obligations with cost-efficient youngsters, GMs could look to cash out on quality MLB regulars in exchange for prospects. This strategy would be in play for the Cardinals as the team has plenty of work to do to return to the top of the NL Central. With pitching prospects knocking at the door and Andre Pallante only getting more expensive, Bloom could connect with the Arizona Diamondbacks for yet another deal.

Arizona Diamondbacks' desire for starting pitching could bring them back to St. Louis for Cardinals starter Andre Pallante

Bloom has not been vocal about his plans this offseason, mainly stating that everything is going to plan so far. That gray area leads to fans being able to create their own winter storylines and weigh all the ways Bloom could go. For me, I tend to find myself looking at the trade market in offseasons like this rather than figuring out if the Cardinals could outbid for top free agents. This process continues to lead me back to Pallante, a guy I have nothing against but could be better used as a trade piece than rotation piece.

Based on arbitration projections, Pallante is estimated to make $7.5 million next season as he settles into the mid-rotation arm he had shown flashes of before. His 12-win and mid-3 ERA campaign was a solid bounceback from a miserable 2025, and his ability to make 30 quality starts is an asset to competing teams. Since the Cardinals may still be stuck in the middle and fighting for .500 rather than the postseason, cashing in on Pallante and reuniting him with Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Arenado could benefit all parties.

Arizona GM Mike Hazen is on the record of searching for controllable starting pitching, especially since the free agent market has a wide gap in tiers this offseason. The Cardinals-D'Backs connection would not be the first of its kind and it seems like every trade these two organizations make have major franchise implications. The two teams have swapped legends like Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, while also connecting on a Lars Nootbaar trade at the past deadline. With the Goldy and Nado deals looking like one-sided wins for the acquiring team and Noot being a wash so far, a Pallante deal could put the trade series back in the Cardinals' favor.

The return from Arizona could go a few different ways with the Cardinals potentially targeting MLB-ready position players or low minor league lottery tickets. The D'Backs' farm system is ranked near the middle of the pack and teams going for a championship would not pay top prospect capital for an arm like Pallante. These two teams could be matches as they both look to achieve cost-efficiency relevant to their places as an organization.

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