Cardinals trade tier list for remaining assets in their organization

Chaim Bloom has started his tenure as President of Baseball Operations for the St. Louis Cardinals in a way that many fans have been longing to see for quite some time — decisive action towards rebuilding for the future. For committed and casual Cardinals fans, the last few years of the franchise have been especially frustrating, as the same tired playbook gets run on repeat while a fanbase is told to have “patience.” That messaging is only going to hold for so long. Franchise stalwarts like Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras have been traded. (Unfortunately, the Boston Red Sox were heavily involved; I can’t be the only Cardinals fan who "sports hates" the Red Sox. I’ll never forgive 2004 and 2013.) 

With more trades potentially in the hopper in the thick of the offseason, it’s time to unveil the franchise trade tiers list. Does the Cardinals front office value these players in my preferential tiers? Probably not. But that’s not what this list is for. This is red meat for the fans — this is how the Cardinals brass SHOULD be valuing their players in potential trade discussions. This tier list is not meant to be exhaustive; some names won’t show up. Without further ado, here are the tiers — with helpful names to provide emotional support ballast as we go!

Tier 1 - You’re interested, seriously? Let’s hurry up and talk before you come to your senses.

Nolan Gorman, Pedro Pages, Victor Scott II. I don’t think these guys will be traded. I’m not really sure they should be traded. I’m just saying that if a team offers you real stuff for any of these guys, you should jump on it faster than the family dog scarfs the scraps from the dinner table. Nolan Gorman has a hole in his swing wider than the Pacific Ocean that I’m just not sure ever gets fixed. Pedro Pages is a brick wall behind the plate, but so is the bat, and the catching train, as we will see on this tier list, is a runaway bullet train from a Liam Neeson movie hurtling towards St. Louis. And Vic, well, if he was any more Willie Mays Hayes from the Major League movie franchise, he’d have to start filing taxes as Wesley Snipes. Maybe he figures it out with the bat — but are you willing to bet on that?

Tier 2 - Could come back to haunt you later

Jordan Walker. Sigh. Yes, he’s in his own tier. He hits scud missiles off the wall every other week, but they are scud missiles. It scares me to trade him because of the physical capacity to morph into Aaron Judge, but he swings at low and away sliders like your dog scarfs scraps from the dinner table. (Yes, your dog is back. Isn’t that how your dog is, though?) I think the safest play is to let 2026 be the last run for Jordan — but that natural ability is scary to part with.

Tier 3 - The fans will be mad, but shhhhhhhhh, we’re listening.

Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar, JoJo Romero, Matt Svanson. I love Brendan Donovan. So do you. The hair. The helmet is flying off. Over on our podcast, Redbird Rundown, we call him The General because he looks like charging into a Civil War era battle with the locks flowing. The consistency. The hustle. All of it. We all do. But, let’s get two top 100 prospects and a lottery guy or two and thank him for his service? That’s the best move for the franchise in the way I see it — and this is my life, after all.

Burly probably wouldn’t get you quite as much, but if someone really overvalues him, you have to listen. Noot is my darling. Statcast loves him, and so do I. But he’s like a highly anticipated entree that just falls a little flat. You’re in the middle of it, and something is just missing. Romero has value and would weaken our team, plus we’d be down one man bun. But you have to listen. And, just letting everyone know, Svanson is lowkey the best pitcher on the roster, but he’s Helsley in the making, so it would be tough to part with him. But again, with where we are, you have to listen.

Tier 4 - Hanging up the phone immediately when his name is brought up

Masyn Winn, Ivan Herrera. This is your foundation. I love both of these guys. Winn may turn out to be Ozzie Smith reincarnated — I realize the heresy there. And Herrera is a legit hitter. It wouldn't shock me a bit to watch him run a 150 wRC+ in the next couple of years. So, no, rival front offices, hands off — especially you, Milwaukee. You can’t steal our devil magic and then get our foundation. The core of these two guys isn’t good enough to be perennial World Series contenders, but that’s why there’s one last tier…

Tier 5 - Rendering you to the nearest CIA black site for even breathing the name

JJ Wetherholt, Liam Doyle, Rainiel Rodriguez. I’m just going to halt everybody right here. These guys aren’t moving. They’re all going to play in St. Louis, and if the over/under were 1.5 wearing red jackets at the end of their careers, I’d take the over. You want your Brendan Donovan replacement? His name is Jonathan David Wetherholt (JJ is a family nickname), and he’s got all of Donnie’s skills with more pop, more speed, and more chutzpah. He went to Memphis and added power just because he could. Let’s get him in the Lou. Pitchers are far scarier because of the inherent injury risk, but Liam Doyle is going to come off the mound screaming at NL Central opponents he’s just struck out for years, and I’m going to love that.

If I’m honest, though, Rainiel Rodriguez is the most hands-off name in the entire organization. Seriously, go look at what he did as a teenager. (He’s younger than the main Stranger Things actors, seriously.) Or don’t go look and just read that a scout called him “the best hitter at 18 I’ve ever seen.” That’s coming down from the mists of Mt Fuji as the chosen samurai hero in a martial arts film-level stuff if I’ve ever heard it. Protect Rainiel — and go ahead and get him a new position to protect the bat!

There you have it, Chaim. I just saved you days of manpower by letting you know how you should think about your players. You rehomed Nolan Arenado, and that’s quite an accomplishment, but file this list away. It’ll be infinitely helpful. Cardinals fans, let me know what you think of the tiers — I’m sure you’ll agree with every choice!