5 Cardinals' trade targets from teams falling out of contention

The St. Louis Cardinals are on a bit of a tear lately. Heading into the series against their divisional rivals in the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals have been able to reel off 8 wins in their last 10 games. The offense has improved, the bullpen has remained steady, and the players and coaches are starting to show some fire.

This has put the Cardinals back into playoff discussions. The team is in third place in the National League Central, they sit just 2 games behind the San Diego Padres for the final Wild Card spot, and they have a 26.2% chance to make the playoffs according to FanGraphs.

If the output continues, the Cardinals could become buyers at the deadline, a position they were wholly familiar with prior to last season. While St. Louis has been surging, other teams have taken a step back. That leaves more sellers for the Cardinals to pluck players from.

There are plenty of holes that could be filled for the Cardinals even though they are playing well. Paul Goldschmidt has been warming up in May, but he's still hitting far below his career averages. The pitching staff could use a top-end starter to bolster their playoff ambitions. Even the outfield could use an upgrade offensively, especially if the organization is content with leaving Jordan Walker in Memphis for an extended run.

With an increasing population of sellers, and a commensurate increase in playoff odds for the Cardinals, the amount of players who could be added to the roster by August has grown.

Here are 5 players from teams on the downturn that could help the Cardinals make a playoff push.

RHP Erick Fedde

Erick Fedde is going to be a prized candidate at this trade deadline. Fresh off an impressive season in the KBO, Fedde signed a 2-year, $15 million contract with the Chicago White Sox. Prior to playing in the KBO, the 31-year-old righty played for the Washington Nationals. He was primarily a starter, but he never pitched more than 133 innings in a season due to a variety of injuries to his shoulder and oblique.

Fedde has finally been able to put it all together in 2024 with the White Sox. He has thrown 58 innings as of May 24th, and he has a 3.10 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 8.07 K/9, and a 1.09 WHIP; he has a 131 ERA+ on the season as well.

As always, the Chicago White Sox are in full rebuild mode. Chris Getz, the team's general manager, has been open about his desire to rebuild and sell using the players he has left on the roster.

Fedde would slot in immediately as the #2 starter on the staff. He doesn't get many whiffs, but his fastball plays well. He doesn't walk many batters, and he limits line drives well. The Cardinals would likely have to give up a high-end pitching prospect to make the deal happen, but that shouldn't inhibit John Mozeliak from forming a potent one-two punch at the top of the rotation.

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.