10 players the Cardinals can target at the trade deadline to help them in 2024

OF Heston Kjerstad, Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles have been one of the best teams in baseball despite having terrible pitching...if only the Cardinals could do the same. With so many young position players contributing already, the Orioles could shed some assets from the Triple-A level to get the pitching they need.

All six of their top prospects are position players, with five of them being in AAA or at the MLB level, and that is not to mention names like Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Santander, Austin Hays, Ryan Mountcastle, and Cedric Mullins who have multiple years of control.

Enter Heston Kjerstad, the 37th-ranked prospect in baseball. He has done nothing but mash this year across Double-A and Triple-A, posting a .314/.394/.585 slash line with 16 HR and 35 RBI. While Kjerstad would not fill a spot in center field for St. Louis, it's hard to deny how good his bat has been.

Even with the wealth of young talent the Orioles have, Kjerstad may be too valuable for them to part with. But if they really want to attack this opportunity to win in 2023, dangling Kjerstad would help them acquire that kind of pitching.