Chaim Bloom connection makes former Red Sox top prospect a perfect Cardinals trade target

The Cardinals have a hole at third base right now, so why not look into a former first-round pick of Chaim Bloom's in Boston who may be on the block? According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox could be interested in moving infielder Marcelo Mayer in a trade for big-league talent to help them push for the playoffs.

St. Louis and Boston are certainly no strangers to making deals over the last few years. After the 2023 season, the Cardinals sent Tyler O'Neill to Boston and then also took Ryan Fernandez from them in the Rule 5 Draft. The two teams had a deal in place to send Nolan Arenado to Boston prior to the 2025 season before Alex Bregman signed with the Red Sox. And this past year, the Cardinals made three separate trades with Boston, sending Steven Matz, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras to Bloom's former team.

Could the two sides come together on another deal, one that brings Mayer to St. Louis to try and get his promising career back on track?

Marcelo Mayer would be an interesting third-base trade target for the Cardinals

The Red Sox are expected to look for upgrades to their catcher group, bullpen, rotation, and potentially another bat as well. St. Louis has multiple names they can offer in those directions.

Ivan Herrera is a name the Red Sox have been rumored to like in the past, but he seems unlikely to be dealt, and it would require more than Mayer to do so. Pedro Pages is someone who contending teams will be interested in, but he'd have to be a small piece of the deal, not the headliner.

On the pitching side of things, Dustin May, Riley O'Brien, Andre Pallante, and JoJo Romero could all be names that intrigue Boston. If the Red Sox were interested in a combination of any of those guys and/or Pages, there could be an interesting deal to be had.

I also wouldn't rule out the idea of the Cardinals using prospect capital to acquire Mayer if Boston goes out and makes deals with other teams for those needs. The Red Sox may be interested in replenishing some of their lost capital in that event, and the Cardinals may have a catching prospect and/or arms they'd be willing to part with for Mayer.

Mayer presents an interesting opportunity for the Cardinals to "buy" for the future at this deadline. Mayer won't hit free agency until after the 2031 season, which makes him a very intriguing option for the Cardinals timeline-wise. Mayer was the fourth overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of high school, and as we've seen with a guy like Jordan Walker, sometimes these top prospects in baseball take some time to find their footing.

In 114 career big league games, Mayer has a .223/.278/.346 slash line with seven home runs and 32 RBI. It's been a rough start to Mayer's big league career, but ending up in a place like St. Louis that can be patient with him may be the best thing for Mayer's career.

Coming into the 2025 season, Mayer was the 12th-ranked prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline and the 15th-ranked prospect according to Baseball America. Mayer was lauded for his plus hit tool and above-average power as a prospect, and both his arm and field tool seemed to play to third base long-term.

If Bloom still believes in his former fourth overall pick and the Red Sox are seriously considering moving him, he could make a ton of sense as a high-upside flyer who could become a key part of the Cardinals' core long-term.

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