Cardinals must make this starter available in a trade after Blue Jays' Jose Soriano blockbuster

The St. Louis Cardinals have some clear trade candidates on their roster, but one name that is flying under the radar and must be shopped now after the Toronto Blue Jays' Jose Soriano blockbuster is Andre Pallante.

Soriano, who has two years of club control remaining like Pallante, has had a breakout 2026 campaign, posting a 3.29 ERA in 22 starts, and the Blue Jays just traded their number two prospect, shortstop Arjun Nimmala, as well as two other prospects, to acquire Soriano from the Los Angeles Angels.

Pallante has not been quite as good as Soriano this year, but has had a breakout year of his own. Pallante has posted a 3.72 ERA in his 21 starts and is among the best in baseball at limiting damage and keeping the ball on the ground. With two more years of club control, he's a guy that teams may be willing to pay a pretty penny for.

Which is exactly why the Cardinals should strike while the iron is hot.

High Jose Soriano trade price should lead Cardinals to trade Andre Pallante

Pallante is a good player, but as you look toward the future core of the Cardinals, they are unlikely to extend him due to the pitching talent coming through the system.

By the time Pallante is ready to enter free agency, the Cardinals expect to have a ton of fun, dynamic arms ready to fit into their rotation, on top of any arms they want to go after in free agency or the trade market. While Pallante would be a good piece of that puzzle, he becomes less valuable as he gets more expensive, so why not get peak value for him now?

Instead of having Pallante and the money he'll be making in 2028, the Cardinals can get a prospect return now, free up room in their rotation in the future for young arms like Liam Doyle, Quinn Mathews, Tanner Franklin, Brandon Clarke, Jurrangelo Cijntje, etc., and free up money to spend on a different starter or area of need. Feels like a win-win to me.

The biggest question is whether or not a market is actually out there for Pallante. There are rumors that teams are interested, but more so as a reliever than a starter. That's not the kind of value the Cardinals need in return for him, so they would likely hold onto him if that is the case.

But if a team values him as a starter and is willing to pay up, the Cardinals have to pursue that kind of deal. It just makes way too much sense for their timeline and is the perfect example of playing the market. Sell high when you can, and get great value in return. And if we've seen anything about Chaim Bloom yet, it's that he seems to be nailing the trade returns on assets he sells off.

Hopefully, in a year or two, we will be having conversations about the Cardinals adding more talent to the roster, but for now, the Cardinals need to be a strong seller when possible.

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