5 bold trade ideas to save the St. Louis Cardinals' season

While it's still too early to panic about the Cardinals, it's not too early to think of ways to right the ship through trades

The St. Louis Cardinals' start to their season has been about as rocky as it could get. If you told me the Cardinals would be 9-13 through the club's first 22 games, I would have thought that they had major injuries to their key players. And yet, the team is mostly healthy and has many signs that show it should be much better than it is.

The offense is elite, and once it even gets league average at hitting with runners in scoring position, it'll take off as it did on Sunday. Their new lineup construction may be the spark they needed to get the offense right again.

While the pitching has been really bad, I do believe it will rebound here soon. But even so, it's clear the pitching staff needs major upgrades if it's going to compete with the best clubs in baseball come October. Jack Flahety's start to his season has been extremely encouraging, but in today's game, you need at least two elite arms in your rotation to do damage in the postseason. The Cardinals may have one in Flaherty, but they don't have another option.

While it's extremely unlikely the Cardinals make a trade any times soon (as even if they want to, the league just does not make significant moves until July each year), and it's hard to predict which players will actually be available then, I do think we can go ahead and start thinking of creative ways for the Cardinals to upgrade their roster.

These five trades are bold for a reason. They are big swings to improve the club for the 2023 season. You may not love the packages, and that's okay, but the point is to think big and think bold in reshaping this roster for chance to contend and go on a deep playoff run.

Here are five bold trades to save the Cardinals' season.

Trade #1 - The Cardinals get their ace, Dylan Cease

Cardinals acquire RHP Dylan Cease from the White Sox for OF Dylan Carlson, RHP Gordon Graceffo, LHP Cooper Hjerpe, and 1B/DH Juan Yepez

Two things before I dissect this trade: first, a player like Dylan Cease is going to cost a treasure of assets (probably more than you'd like to believe, more on that later), and two, the exact players in this deal could be swapped around, but again, we are talking big value here.

Cease finished 2nd in Cy Young voting in 2022 after going 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA and 227 SO in 184 innings pitched. In his age-27 season, he's posted a 2.73 ERA in 5 starts for the 7-15 White Sox. While their team has time to turn things around too, I thought coming into the season that they were a team that was on the verge of blowing up, and I think that will be the case come July.

Cease is not a free agent until after the 2026 season, so to acquire him would be an extremely high price with the level of talent and cost control you are acquiring. The exact package is hard to predict, but I imagine it would cost some combination of Major League talent and top prospects.

Dylan Carlson and Juan Yepez are quality big leaguers with years of team control they just don't have long-term roles with the Cardinals at the moment, and would benefit from playing every day on another team. They would represent two quality position players to build around for the White Sox.

Parting with both Cooper Hjerpe and Gordon Graceffo is a tough pill to swallow, but that feels like a fair price if the Cardinals get to avoid giving up Masyn Winn and Tink Hence. If one of those names were in this package, which it honestly may take that, then I think the Cardinals could keep one or both of those arms.

Dylan Cease, Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, and Miles Mikolas would form a pretty darn good postseason rotation, and I think it's something the Cardinals should strongly consider this summer.

Trade #3 - Acquiring pitching from the Dodgers for Tommy Edman

Cardinals acquire RHP Dustin May or RHP Bobby Miller from the Dodgers for SS Tommy Edman

The Los Angeles Dodgers have started their 2023 season off slow as well and currently have a gaping hole at shortstop. Mookie Betts is beginning to fill in there for the club, but they'd surely like to have a long-term answer in the near future.

While Gavin Lux will be back next year, it seems a bit risky to rely on him as the everyday shortstop in 2024. Lux would be better served as a utility man for the club, as the Dodgers bring in a more established shortstop.

Since the Dodgers have been resetting their books this year in anticipation of spending big next offseason, they would also be drawn to a guy like Edman who is under team control through the 2026 season.

For the Cardinals, giving up Edman would be a bold move, as he's a Gold Glove-caliber shortstop who seems to come through in big spots at the plate. But with Brendan Donovan and Masyn Winn able to fill in, Edman could be an extremely valuable trade chip for them.

There are two names I think would be interesting swaps for the Cardinals here - Dustin May or Bobby Miller. May, who is 25, has been really good for Dodgers this year, posting a 3.07 ERA in his first five starts. He has really good stuff, but oddly has a bit of a low strikeout rate. He could be a strong addition to the Cardinals' rotation.

Miller is the Dodgers #2 prospect and is knocking on the door of an MLB debut. He's got the stuff to be a future front-line starter, but can also make a major impact on the Cardinals' rotation this season.

Trade #4 - The Cardinals grab Aaron Nola from a fading Phillies club

The Cardinals receive RHP Aaron Nola for OF Dylan Carlson and RHP Michael McGreevy

I want to start by saying I think this scenario is pretty unlikely. The Phillies have started off slow, and they were my pre-season pick as the team in the National League to underachieve the most and miss the playoffs. Even if they end up doing so, they'll likely still be in contention for a Wild Card spot, which makes it hard to believe they'd trade Aaron Nola, even as he approaches free agency.

Should the Phillies feel like they are out of the hunt come July, I would expect them to cash in on Nola's value to the highest bidder. It's hard to know exactly what the Phillies would want for Nola, but since he's a rental, it wouldn't cost the same as other potential aces.

In this proposal, I have the Cardinals acquiring two months of Nola (with the intention to extend him) for Dylan Carlson and Michael McGreevy. With Rhys Hoskins being a free agent after this season and coming off a major knee injury, the club could look to move Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, or Kyle Schwarber to first base long-term.

Grabbing Dylan Carlson would give them a replacement in their outfield then, someone who can play excellent defense and contribute to their powerful offense from time to time. Michael McGreevy would be a nice addition to their rotation in the near future as close to an MLB-ready arm.

Trade #5 - The Shohei Ohtani trade

The Cardinals acquire RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani from the Angels for OF Dylan Carlson, RHP Tink Hence, RHP Gordon Graceffo, and 1B/DH Juan Yepez.

I'm going to be honest, I think it's so hard to know what it would take to trade for Shohei Ohtani if he is moved at the deadline. On one hand, he's going to be a free agent in a few months and you'll likely lose him, but on the other hand, your club is getting a Cy Young-level starter and All-Star-level bat.

The closest thing I can compare this kind of deal to is the Dodgers trading forTrea Turner and Max Scherzer from the Nationals in 2021. Scherzer was a free agent after that season, while Turner had another year of club control. The Nationals got two top 50 MLB prospects in return as well as two other lower-rated prospects in the Dodgers system.

I think it'll end up taking more since there would surely be a bidding war, which is where I landed on Tink Hence, Dylan Carlson, Juan Yepez, and Gordon Graceffo. This would be a great haul for the Angels, and help them jump-start their rebuild around Mike Trout. Honestly, though, I could see them asking for even more.

The Cardinals getting Ohtani totally change the outlook of the club. They'd have the ace they desperately need, and they'd also add another elite bat to their lineup that would easily become the best in baseball by a long shot.

I give this kind of deal a very low chance of happening, but it's still interesting to think about for St. Louis.