5 Cardinals' trade targets from teams falling out of contention

LHP Tyler Anderson

Tyler Anderson was once a product of the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching lab. Once with the Dodgers, Anderson was able to refine his pitch mix and improve his stats.

After the 2022 season, Anderson signed a 3-year, $39 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. The southpaw hasn't quite been able to replicate the success he had across town, but he's still been a very serviceable starting pitcher. He is allowing a lot of fly balls this year, but low exit velocities paired with a slightly better-than-league-average hard-hit percentage have limited major damage.

Anderson's offspeed pitches are his calling card, and his changeup is one of the best in the league. Batters are hitting just .189 against it, and he's been able to generate whiffs at a 38% clip. It is his best strikeout pitch.

Ever since the Angels lost the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes and Mike Trout to an injury, their pillaging has seemed inevitable. The Cardinals could jump on the ship and try to pull Anderson away from Perry Minasian.

Anderson has a year and a half left on his contract, so his acquisition will limit the amount of work Mozeliak has to do this upcoming offseason to fill out a rotation. He will turn 35 over the offseason, but his experience could help if Kyle Gibson or Lance Lynn aren't granted their team options at the end of the year.

LHP Jesus Luzardo

Jesus Luzardo, for as much as he's struggled this year, would be the big fish should he be acquired. He has two and a half years of control left, he's a left-handed pitcher, he's still only 26, and he has a track record of success, especially last year. He threw 178.2 innings in 2023 with a 3.58 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 10.48 K/9, and he accumulated 3.7 fWAR.

After a rough start to 2024 thanks to an injury and poor performances, Luzardo has really turned it around recently. He has pitched two shutouts in the month of May, and his ERA has dropped precipitously since early April. These could be signs that he is returning to his old form.

Luzardo, similar to Fedde, would form a dynamic duo with Sonny Gray. The two are mildly different pitchers, as Luzardo has historically been a pitcher who has high strikeout numbers. Luzardo gives up hard hits often, but the bulk of them wind up being fly balls rather than line drives. His 4-seam fastball is his best pitch, and it averages 95.5 MPH on the radar gun.

The Marlins are very clearly sellers this year (maybe even their manager?). John Mozeliak could gut the fish, per se, and use the remaining parts in Miami to make his own roster that much better.

Landing Luzardo would be huge; he isn't a free agent until after the 2026 season, so he's in it for the long haul. A left-handed ace to pair with Sonny Gray, a righty, for the next two and a half years is tantalizing. The Cardinals have been stung in the past by trades with the Miami Marlins, and landing someone like Luzardo given his age and talent would require a haul of prospects. If the right deal comes about, John Mozeliak should jump on it.

RHP Alek Manoah

For those of you who have only been paying attention to Alek Manoah news from last year through the offseason, his inclusion on this list may be a bit peculiar. Manoah struggled mightily in 2023 after being a Cy Young candidate in 2022.

The 26-year-old is actually off to a decent start this year through 4 appearances. He has pitched 22.2 innings and given up a total of 10 runs. His strikeouts are a bit up compared to his past two seasons, but he is also allowing slightly more than 1 home run per outing at this point. Where we can see similarities to his All-Star form from yesteryear would be in his fastball velocity. It has ticked back up to 93.5 MPH from 92.9 last year. At its peak, Manoah's fastball could hit 94 MPH with relative ease.

A trade for Manoah would be a bit of a buy-low proposition. He still isn't back to his 2022 self, but he's definitely not as bad as he was last year. Manoah would likely slot in at the back of the rotation with the hopes that he can revive his stuff from two years ago. In order to achieve those heights, he needs his fastball to get back to where it was, and he needs to be better at limiting hard contact.

It may not take much in return to land Alek Manoah (see Dylan Carlson rumors from the offseason, though those are likely dated at this point). If he can continue to be at least an average starter, a trade for Manoah may be a savvy move by the front office. The Blue Jays haven't been consistent enough to commit, and plenty of national pundits see them as true sellers at this deadline given the near-expiring contracts of guys like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.

DH J.D. Martinez

The final player on this list isn't a pitcher. Cardinal fans have a particular picture of J.D. Martinez in their minds after his swing took out the team's best offensive player earlier this month. The only way for Martinez to make amends for his errors would be to bring his above-average offensive game to St. Louis.

The Cardinals have been desperate for a consistent veteran presence in the heart of the lineup since Contreras went down. With Nolan Arenado's power being sapped by the Monstars of MLB and Paul Goldschmidt being taken by Father Time, the middle of the lineup has lacked the bop that is needed to make an offense go.

The addition of J.D. Martinez would provide some pop to a lineup that's desperate for it. Martinez hit a home run Friday night against the San Francisco Giants, and his slash line sits at .294/.333/.435 with a 124 wRC+ on the season. He is striking out at a rate greater than 30%, so that's definitely a concern, but he has been ever-consistent at the plate.

Martinez is purely a designated hitter at this point in his career, so he likely won't play the field at any point for the Cardinals. He has hit left-handed pitchers exceptionally well, something the Cardinals used to do well but hasn't in recent years.

The Mets are reeling recently, and given their owner's recent cryptic comments, they'll likely be sellers once again this trade deadline.

Martinez signed a 1-year, $12 million deal this offseason, so the 36-year-old likely won't require much in exchange for his services. Hopefully, if the Cardinals are buyers, this move is paired with the addition of a starting pitcher. Simply adding an aging bat with decent power likely won't move the needle this year.