4 potential trade destinations for St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Hicks

The Cardinals are going to have a losing record at the August 1 trade deadline. Sure, they play in a weak division, but the Brewers and Reds are far enough ahead that St. Louis has basically no chance at a National League Central crown. And a Wild Card berth is equally as unlikely, with even more teams to leapfrog.

Given their predicament, it makes perfect sense for the Cardinals to trade away all of their pending free agents, and quite possibly more players than that. There's plenty of debate about which players may fall into the latter group, but the upcoming free agencies of Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, Chris Stratton, and Jordan Hicks make them completely expendable as St. Louis reloads for 2024.

We've already identified potential landing spots for Montgomery and fellow starting pitcher Flaherty. Stratton is having a solid enough season that some team would be willing to part with a low-level prospect to add him to its bullpen.

But what about Hicks, currently closing for St. Louis, using his 103-mph bullets to zip pitches past flailing batters? Every team could use a fireballer like Hicks, but only potential playoff-bound franchises would be interested in adding a free-agent-to-be to their roster. While this season's standings leave few teams on the outside looking in, a few squads look like better fits than others for Hicks' services.

Here are 4 teams that could trade for Jordan Hicks

Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay cranks out multiple strong pitchers from its development pipeline on a yearly basis. This season, bullpen arms Jason Adam, Kevin Kelly, Colin Poche, Jake Diekman (not a young Rays-developed pitcher, but still...), and Pete Fairbanks all have ERAs under (in some cases well under) 3.00.

Also, the Rays also typically don't let their starting pitchers go deep into games, so they have a more pronounced need for relievers than most squads. So, how do you make that staff better? Bring in even more bullpen arms, such as Hicks. Given how Tampa Bay uses its bullpen, he could pitch in middle relief, a setup role, or serve as the closer - possibly all three in a given week.

What would the trade return for Hicks look like? As with the Dodgers, the Rays have a wealth of prospects. This could be another situation where the Cardinals send multiple big leaguers in exchange for a better prospect package. Again, Tampa Bay churns through its pitchers - both starters and relievers - frequently, so pairing Hicks with Montgomery or Flaherty could work best.

Perhaps St. Louis targets someone like Double-A starter Mason Montgomery. Or maybe they look at his teammates playing the middle infield, shortstop Greg Jones or second baseman Osleivis Basabe. Another option would be to restock the bullpen with arms like Colby White or Ian Seymour.

Given the players the Cardinals have to trade and the Rays have to offer in exchange, Hicks could be part of a variety of packages that would help both teams. Maybe there's even a way to help balance out the Randy Arozarena-Matthew Liberatore deal. We all can dream, right?

Arizona Diamondbacks

The D'backs have operated with a three-headed closer committee of Andrew Chafin, Scott McGough, and Miguel Castro, who each have 7-8 saves. Of course, having three closers is sort of like having two starting quarterbacks. If you have two, you really have none.

What could Arizona do to address this issue? Why not throw Hicks into the mix and add another reliever to their bullpen hydra? While it's been rumored the Diamondbacks would like to pick up an established closer, it's possible they can't find one that fits and would have to "settle" for four co-closers to shut down opponents over the last few innings.

Turning once again to acquisition cost, the idea of the Cardinals including a starter (Montgomery or Flaherty) would serve Arizona well. They've been running out a variety of young starters - Ryne Nelson, Drey Jameson, Tommy Henry, and Brandon Pfaadt - with Henry the only one providing passable results so far.

The return for such a pairing? Well, Druw Jones and Jordan Lawler aren't leaving Arizona's system, though the Cardinals already have a glut of outfielders and middle infielders. Any of the above-mentioned struggling young starters would be appealing for a St. Louis squad that President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said is looking for "Pitching, pitching, pitching."

Perhaps a couple of months in the pitcher-friendly Busch Stadium would help a newly-acquired youngster get more comfortable on the mound and better prepare them for next season. It's certainly a shot worth taking.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have spent big the last two offseasons. In the 2021-'22 winter, it was the additions of shortstop Corey Seager, second baseman Marcus Semien, and starting pitcher Jon Gray. This past offseason, Jacob deGrom was the free agent splurge.

A much smaller expenditure has paid off greatly in the bullpen, as Will Smith has saved 16 games as Texas has surprised many by surging to first place with no signs of slowing down. Of course, relievers certainly can slow down as the season goes along, so reinforcements to support Smith, Brock Burke, Jose Leclerc, and their sub-3.00 ERA would be welcome. Oh, yeah, there's also new arrival Aroldis Chapman, who has a win, a save, and 10 strikeouts in six innings with the Rangers so far.

Of course, Hicks is just one pitcher, so maybe Stratton gets added to the package, or DeJong is sent to the Rangers to DH and give Seager an occasional day off. Perhaps Tyler O'Neill becomes part of the deal, providing strong defense and the potential of a potent bat, maybe in a platoon with Texas' current left fielder, Travis Jankowski, who currently is hitting well above his career norm.

Starting pitchers Owen White and Cody Bradford have gotten tastes of the big leagues, with Bradford currently in the rotation. Jack Leiter is probably untouchable despite not being able to get his ERA below 5.50 thus far in two seasons at Double-A. Alex Speas is a reliever showing great strikeout stuff in Triple-A.

The Rangers are in a position to add as they push for an American League West title, with their eyes set on a bigger prize. The Cardinals are in a position to sell, looking for pieces to help in 2024 and beyond.

Whether it's one of these four teams or another, Hicks is almost certain to be traded. His time in St. Louis would be up whether by August 1 or in the offseason, so it makes sense for the Cardinals to get what they can for him now when his value is as high as it's going to get.