Cardinals suddenly facing steep competition in catcher trade market from division rivals

The St. Louis Cardinals have had one ace up their sleeve all summer long: an abundance of catching depth. At a position where most teams struggle to find one capable starter, the Redbirds are loaded with top prospects, proven MLB stars, and backstops fitting all archetypes. Using that surplus to find a few roster upgrades prior to the trade deadline has been the expectation for quite some time.

Here's the problem: They aren't alone in that thinking. Against all odds, catcher is one of few positions on the market that appears to have enough supply to meet demand. Old friend John Mozeliak already kicked off the proceedings by getting a weak return for Logan O'Hoppe, and that was a deal between two division rivals in the Angels and Rangers.

Now, the Cardinals' own division rivals are looking to make their life hard, with the Chicago Cubs announcing themselves as a late entrant to the catcher surplus club.

Cardinals' catching depth is more valuable than the rental backstops other NL Central teams will try to trade

It would be pretty shocking to see the Cubs trade Kelly, who has paired with Miguel Amaya to form one of the better catching tandems in baseball. He has a 106 wRC+ and .720 OPS this season to go with strong defensive metrics, hence his 1.2 fWAR in less than 300 plate appearances. However, he's one of their many impending free agents (technically, he has a mutual option, but those are almost always declined), and they might be better of getting something for him now rather than losing him for nothing over the offseason.

That rental status also applies to the Cincinnati Reds' Tyler Stephenson (.731 OPS, 0.7 fWAR) and the Milwaukee Brewers' Gary Sánchez (123 wRC+, 0.8 fWAR), both of whom have also been mainstays in the rumor mill this summer. That's a lot of quality catching depth to contend with just in the NL Central alone.

Luckily, the Cardinals' assortment of backstops are all under team control for the foreseeable future, making their players more attractive to teams on the fence. Even after losing Yohel Pozo to the Orioles via waivers, they've got Iván Herrera, Pedro Pagés, and Jimmy Crooks all on the active roster, not to mention Leo Bernal on the 40-man and star prospect Rainiel Rodriguez in Double-A (though he's not going anywhere).

Herrera is the biggest name of that bunch, and he'd return a haul if Chaim Bloom moves him before Aug. 3. He may not be Hunter Goodman or Adley Rutschman, but as a 26-year-old with 3.5 years of team control remaining, a lot of franchises would pay up to add his 113 wRC+ to their starting lineup.

If the All-Stars stay put, Herrera would be the best non-rental backstop on the market. That holds a lot of weight at a position where teams like to make multi-year plans. Even if the rest of the NL Central tries to undercut them in the catching market, the Cardinals still hold the most valuable chip.

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