5 contender-to-contender deals for the Cardinals

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners have been one of the most active teams already this deadline; they've added outfielder Randy Arozarena, reliever Yimi Garcia, and they've traded away reliever Ryne Stanek. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has been quite busy, as was the expectation.

Dipoto and John Mozeliak are familiar with each other, and the two occasionally operate in similar ways. The Mariners are in desperate need of a first baseman after releasing Ty France. They promoted their number six prospect Tyler Locklear, but he's been struggling out of the gate. A veteran first baseman is probably their ideal candidate. Seattle could also be looking to improve at second base, as Jorge Polanco is slashing .201/.287/.310.

Paul Goldschmidt is not going to be traded this year unless the Cardinals fall out of contention these next couple of days. The Cardinals boast ample first base depth, as Alec Burleson is the next man up there, and Jordan Walker could theoretically receive reps there. Also, Luken Baker is still destroying baseballs in the minor leagues. At second base, the most obvious candidate to be dealt is Nolan Gorman.

The Mariners are full of starting pitching. I wrote recently about how the Cardinals could send Thomas Saggese to Seattle for Emerson Hancock, but Nolan Gorman could also be enough to bring back Hancock. Luken Baker plus a pitching prospect like Sem Robberse or Cooper Hjerpe could bring back Emerson Hancock as well.

If the Cardinals create a larger package around either Baker or Gorman, they could land Bryan Woo or Bryce Miller, though Woo is the more likely candidate to be dealt from the Mariners' starting rotation. If the Mariners and Cardinals can hash out a deal, these two contending teams are probably the best fits for each other. The Cardinals are flush with infielders, and the Mariners have more pitching than they know what to do with.