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

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers have received strong relief efforts from Evan Phillps, Brusdar Graterol, and Caleb Ferguson, and Shelby Miller surprisingly was doing quite nicely before hitting the 60-day IL. Meanwhile, Yency Almonte and Phil Bickford have been striking out - and walking - large percentages of batters, resulting in ERAs over 5.00 for both of them.

Hicks falls somewhere in between those two groups of pitchers. He has posted a 3.86 ERA (through July 17) with a strong 56 Ks in 39-2/3 innings and a poor 23 BBs in that same period. With Ferguson the only lefty among the Dodgers relievers listed above, Hicks doesn't offer a different look from most of LA's bullpen as a fellow righty, but his 100+ mph heat isn't something many pitchers can offer.

What could the Cardinals expect to receive in return from the Dodgers for Hicks' services for two-plus months? By himself, not much. Maybe minor league relievers Nick Nastrini or Carlos Duran would be possibilities, providing long-range bullpen assistance to St. Louis in 2-3 years.

What if the Cardinals included another player in the deal to sweeten the pot? Typically, teams trade multiple prospects for a single established big leaguer. But how about a deal in which shortstop Paul DeJong is included as an upgrade on Miguel Rojas? Or maybe one of Montgomery or Flaherty is added to the package since the Dodgers rotation has been a M.A.S.H. unit all season long?

Such a pairing would be more likely to get St. Louis a potential young starting pitcher. Maybe not Bobby Miller, but what about Gavin Stone, Michael Grove, Ryan Pepiot, or Emmet Sheehan? Any of those hurlers, who all have been among Los Angeles' starter options at some point this season, could be candidates for a nearly-bare 2024 Cardinals rotation.