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3 fast-rising Cardinals prospects who could be trade bait
Yes, the Cardinals do not look so good right now, but no it is not totally over yet. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak has not said anything referring to being " sellers " at the deadline, so we could see the Cardinals make some moves in the coming months.
Now one question some fans might ask is if the Cardinals deserve to make an upgrade at the trade deadline. If they keep losing at the rate they are they will not be in contention to win a championship, or the division even if the division stays mediocre. And if the Cardinals still have the third-worst record in the MLB in late July, then it's not worth trading away parts of the future to try to contend.
Even though the starting pitching has a decent run of success during this current rut, the problem is if it the rotation can be trusted in the postseason. There are lots of starters that could be available at the deadline but they will come at a fairly high price. The Cardinals have always had high-quality prospects over the years that teams are interested in. In a trade last season with the Pirates, the Cardinals traded away Johan Oviedo and Malcom Nunez, who were on the Cardinals' top 30 prospect list in 2021.
So who could be traded for someone that can help the Cardinals right now? You could look at prospects that have high ceilings but may be blocked once they're ready to get to the big leagues, or blocked by other prospects. You have multiple levels of minor league baseball which leaves you with a lot of players, sometimes you need to move some of them.
Here are three fast-rising Cardinals prospects who could be trade bait
Catcher Leonardo Bernal
Bernal is a teenage, switch-hitting catcher who is in his third season in the Cardinals organization. He has made a significant jump on the Cardinals' prospect list, he was ranked 18th in 2022 and he is now into the top 10. He is slashing .270/.377/.365 at Palm Beach in A ball but is still developing on the defensive side. In 104 games behind the plate, he has committed 17 errors and has allowed 113 stolen bases, only throwing out 36.
Looking at the depth chart right now with catchers, you have Willson Contreras who is in year one of a five-year contract, but time will tell if he will be catching later on in that contract. You have Andrew Knizner as the backup, and then Ivan Herrera who also is on the Cardinals' top 10 prospects list.
Herrera got a cup of coffee in the MLB last year and is still seen by most as the catcher of the future. He is having a great season in Triple-A with Memphis, fresh off winning the Cardinals minor league player of the month in May. There wouldn't be a point to having Herrera back up Contreras for multiple seasons if Contreras stays as the catcher later on in his contract, so trading Herrera is an option as well. The Cardinals could also look at moving Jimmy Crooks, another catcher who has jumped up on the prospect rankings and is in the A level of the minors. With Contreras holding the catcher position and having 3 catching prospects, you could easily see the Cardinals trading one of them. Bernal is the youngest of the three prospects, and the Cardinals would likely intrigue trading him over Herrera at this time.
Pitcher Connor Thomas
Thomas was drafted by the Cardinals in the 5th round of the 2019 MLB draft out of Georgia Tech. He has moved up to the top 15 on the Cardinals' prospect list despite struggling in Memphis over the past two seasons. In 2022 and currently in 2023, Thomas has an era of well over 5, and he has allowed 260 hits and only racked up 153 strikeouts in just under 200 innings. On top of that, he is 25 years old which is a little older than most prospects that have yet to make the big leagues.
It's hard to predict what other teams could see in Thomas from an interest standpoint, but the Cardinals currently have names like Tink Hence, Gordon Graceffo, Cooper Hjerpe, and others that are probably untouchable, they seem to be in the future plans. The Cardinals always seem to find a way when it comes to making trades at keeping their top prospects and trading away lower-level prospects. Thomas is a pitcher that could possibly be a " throw-in " in a trade package for a player that can help the Cardinals right now.
Outfielder Moises Gomez
No Cardinal prospect made a bigger jump on the top 30 prospect list than outfield slugger Moises Gomez. He made such a big jump because he is coming off a 39-home run season in 2022 across Springfield and Memphis. And so far in 2023 with Memphis over 54 games he has a .252/.305/.523 slash line and has recorded 15 more home runs.
Gomez was first signed by the Rays back in 2015, and after 6 seasons in their organization he was released, he never made it past Double-A. He signed with the Cardinals in 2022 and instantly made an impact for the Cardinals' Double-A team in Springfield, hitting 23 home runs in just 60 games. His career high in a single season in the Rays organization was 19. Gomez would hit 16 more in again just 60 games with Triple-A Memphis to finish 2022 with 39 dingers. Like most young power hitters, Gomez has had struggles with keeping the strikeouts down. So far in his minor league career, he was whiffed in just under 30 percent of his at-bats but his whiff rate has gone down in each of the past 3 seasons ( 38.7% in '21, 35.2% in '22, and 28.9% in '23 ).
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Why could Gomez be trade bait? He has shown that he's close to being ready for a call-up to the big leagues, the problem is the Cardinals have a traffic jam in the outfield. When the roster is fully healthy, Gomez would have a difficult time getting consistent at-bats. With Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson, and now Lars Nootbaar on the injured list, the Cardinals decided to call up Luken Baker who was also tearing it up in the minor leagues over the outfielder Gomez. With Carlson and Nootbaar expected to return relatively soon, and Jordan Walker being back in the big leagues, those chances to find a spot on the major league roster for Gomez would vanish. He could gain lots of interest from other clubs at the deadline.
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