5 potential trade destinations for St. Louis Cardinals' Dylan Carlson

The St. Louis Cardinals have many things that contenders want this trade deadline: controllable young talent, high-end prospects, and skilled relievers. There is a plethora of players who could be dealt this trade deadline. One such player is Dylan Carlson.

Once the top prospect in the system and the 13th-best prospect in all of MLB as recent as 2020, Carlson has had a fine major league career up to this point. He is slashing .246/.326/.402 for his career with an OPS+ of 103, slightly above average. His defense, according to some metrics, has been strong as well, particularly in center field. He continually logs plus seasons in multiple innings in center. Meanwhile, his right-field defense is slightly below average. His main flaw defensively is his outfield jump.

With Tommy Edman proving more than capable in center and Jordan Walker showing promise offensively in right, Carlson appears to be a commodity worth trading. He could fetch quite a return, as he is still only 24 and has 3.5 years of team control left.

Let's take a look at five potential destinations for Carlson and the possible return. Not many players of his position, skill, and age have been dealt in the past, so it will be tough to find comparable trade values. It is safe to assume he would garner a player of similar team control who is currently in the majors or a AAA prospect in another organization who is strong but not elite. Using these assumptions, we can find a handful of teams and trades for Carlson alone.

A Bader-for-Montgomery trade package seems likely, two players with similar team control that fill a need for the other trade partner. These five teams all have a need that Dylan Carlson could fill very easily for them. They also have pieces that would fill a need the Cardinals currently have: starting pitching.