Cardinals Rumors: MLB insider picks young starter as Cardinals' perfect trade match

The St. Louis Cardinals' starting rotation continues to have consistency issues, and there does not appear to be any help on the horizon. Outside of rookie Michael McGreevy, the Cardinals seemingly do not have an MLB-ready arm that could fill spots in the rotation currently occupied by Miles Mikolas and Erick Fedde.

Even with the rotation issues, though, the Cardinals are still in the thick of the playoff race but need a good push heading into the All-Star break to make ownership add to the current roster. Remaining a couple of games out of the Wild Card, the team will need a strong middle of July to convince outgoing decision-maker John Mozeliak that adding to the current personnel is worth it, even without the star-laden roster. The unlikely nature that the organization will do anything worthwhile at the deadline does not stop fans and experts alike from trying to find perfect fits for the Cardinals, and MLB insider Jeff Passan performed that activity in a recent ESPN article.

Jeff Passan matched Rays starter Taj Bradley to the Cardinals.

In his exercise, Passan took all 16 MLB teams that currently have a winning record and scoured the league to find the best match for that team. When it got the Cardinals, despite their issues hitting against left-handed starters, Passan felt that pitching was the biggest need, and it is hard to argue that thought. The insider chose the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that the Cardinals have done deals with before, as that match, even with the Rays holding onto a playoff spot via the Wild Card.

His choice from the Rays' rotation is 24-year-old Taj Bradley, who was a former top prospect and is putting together another season that falls right in line with his career performance to this point. Bradley currently sits at 5-6 with a 4.79 ERA, but the metrics show that the young righty may be getting a little unlucky as his expected stats put him at a mid-3 ERA. One issue behind his struggles to this point has been a decreased strikeout rate despite holding onto a 96mph fastball and decent off-speed stuff.

Bradley is using his splitter less than he has in previous years, even though it had been one of his better offerings in years past. He has a traditional four-pitch mix and has been throwing his curveball almost double than what he did last season, and the pitch has been effective for him, as opponents are hitting .091 against the breaking ball after torching it for a .483 slugging percentage the year prior.

The cost to acquire Bradley is expected to be high, but the Rays may be willing to move him based on their current rotation performing well. It would be a little out of the ordinary to trade a cost-controlled starter, as he will not be a free agent until the 2030 season and is arbitration-eligible beginning in 2027. The years of control would be intriguing to any acquiring team, and especially for the Cardinals, who will be losing Fedde, Mikolas, and Steven Matz from their pitching staff after this season, if not sooner. Behind McGreevy, top pitching prospect Quinn Mathews has been inconsistent since returning from injury, and Tekoah Roby has been working through some struggles since his promotion to Memphis. Bradley may not be a completely realistic target, but Passan choosing him as a match for St. Louis does make sense. Passan specifically mentions the Cardinals' catching depth as an intriguing trade piece.