5 trades that Cardinals could make today to improve their roster immediately

Let's be clear, trades do not normally happen this early in the season. But with the way the St. Louis Cardinals' season has gone so far, drastic times may call for drastic measures.

It's really easy for any of us to hop on the internet and just say "The Cardinals need to trade these players for an ace today", and I know our comments are typically full of those thoughts. While I understand the sentiment, that's just not how the baseball industry goes about its business, outside of some rare exceptions.

In 2021, the Milwaukee Brewers traded away right-handed relievers J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen to the Tampa Bay Rays for shortstop Willy Adames and right-hander Trevor Richards. A lot of things came together to make that deal happen. The Rays were ready to call up the top prospect in baseball, Wander Franco, but didn't have a place to play him. The Brewers badly needed a bat and were willing to trade away some relievers.

One thing led to another, and a deal came to fruition.

It's possible for the Cardinals to replicate this kind of deal, but the front office will need to be okay with the following realities.

1. They may be selling low on one of their own assets
2. They will need to find a trade partner who has a very clear need that they can help fill
3. Trades like this do not happen for top-end talent.
4. If a team believes they can get a lot for that player, they'll likely wait until the trade deadline when there are more teams in the bidding.

Adames came in and made a huge impact for the Brewers, but at the time of the trade, he was hitting .197/.254/.371 through 142 plate appearances. Not exactly the looks of a middle-of-the-order bat in my opinion.

If the Cardinals want to make an immediate upgrade to their roster, they'll have to get creative and aggressive. Here are five trades they could pursue to improve this roster right now.

Getting rotation and bullpen help from the Yankees

The Cardinals trade OF Tyler O'Neill to the Yankees for RHPs Michael King and Clarke Schmidt

I'll preface each of these trades by saying, this isn't necessarily what I would do, but it's the kind of trade that I think could be on the table for the Cardinals if they went looking.

The Yankees have so many injuries right now to their pitching staff and their position players, but it's their lineup that seems to be floundering the most right now. The club ranks 18th in runs scored to this point with Giancarlo Stanton, Harrison Bader, and Josh Donaldson on the Injured List currently. Aaron Judge is currently dealing with discomfort in his hip, so that's another situation to monitor for them.

Even with injuries to Carlos Rodon, Luis Severino, Frankie Montas, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Lou Trivino, the club ranks 3rd in team ERA on the season. They may be willing to part with some arms to add some firepower to their offense as soon as possible.

While it would hurt to give up Tyler O'Neill and the kind of bat he can bring to the Cardinals' lineup, they have plenty of outfield depth right now, and both Clarke Schmidt and Michael King present some serious upside for St. Louis.

King is 27 years old and currently has a 1.72 ERA in 15.2 innings of work, and is coming off a 2022 season where he had a 2.29 ERA over 51 innings. While you may think "Why would the Yankees give up a great bullpen arm like King?", he's in his first year of arbitration and will have his salary raised every year until he's a free agent in 2026. The Yankees have guys like Loaisiga and Trivino set to come back from the IL soon, names like Ron Marinaccio and Albert Abreu pitching great on pre-arbitration deals, and other names like Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, and Jimmy Cordero in their bullpen.

Schmidt represents a buy-low candidate for the Cardinals. He was once a top prospect for the Yankees, and while he found success out of the bullpen for them last year (3.12 ERA in 57.2 innings), he hasn't panned out as a starter yet. He's started five games for the Yankees so far this year to the tune of a 6.30 ERA in 20 innings of work. Schmidt still has really good stuff, so a change of scenery could do him some good.

This trade turns O'Neill into an elite bullpen piece for the Cardinals and a flyer on a young arm who could help their rotation or worst case, represent another reliable arm in the bullpen. Even if Schmidt is nothing more than a reliever for the Cardinals, adding those two arms to Ryan Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos, Zack Thompson, and Genesis Cabrera would give the Cardinals a top bullpen in baseball.

The Cardinals and Marlins finally swap offense for pitching

The Cardinals trade OF Tyler O'Neill to the Marlins for LHP Jesus Luzardo

The Marlins already swapped pitching for hitting this offseason in the Pablo Lopez-Luis Ararez deal, but their offense still ranks bottom three in runs scored and needs a lot help.

If the Marlins are going to part with another big-league arm, it's going to have to be for a bat that can make a difference in their lineup immediately. I thought about some deals with Juan Yepez or Alec Burleson, but I feel like they'll want more than a guy who can kinda play in the field but is more of a DH.

The Marlins pitching has struggled as a whole to start off the year, ranking 20th in baseball in ERA. A lot of that has to do with slow starts from guys like Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, and Trevor Rogers, who all figure to be better as the season goes on.

Jesus Luzardo is just 25 years old and has a 3.62 ERA in 27.1 innings of work so far this year. He's under team control through 2027, which makes me think he would be worth a fair amount on the market in a deal. I'm honestly not sure the Marlins would actually trade away pitching until the deadline, but if they wanted to upgrade their offense immediately, the Cardinals make a perfect trade partner.

The Cardinals bring back a familiar face

The Cardinals trade DH/OF Juan Yepez for RHP Lance Lynn

Maybe I'm undervaluing Lance Lynn a little bit here, so there could be more than needs to go in this package, but with the trainwreck the White Sox are right now, I could see Lynn being moved in a deal like this.

Lynn has posted a 3.26 ERA over his last two seasons in 278.2 innings, but this year, his ERA has skyrocketed to 7.52 like the rest of the White Sox's staff. Lynn makes $18.5 million this year and has a club option of $18 million for next year with a $1 million buyout. The White Sox are penny pinchers to say the least, so offloading that contract soon would feel good for their checkbooks.

If the Cardinals believe Lynn will rebound this season playing for a contender, he's an interesting target for the club. He's a fiery competitor and could help stabilize their rotation until the trade deadline.

Yepez provides the White Sox with a nice bat to have in their lineup as they either rebuild or retool this club. Names like Lucas Giolito or Michael Kopech could be targets now too, but I feel like the White Sox will wait to trade those guys until the deadilne.

One name that for sure won't be traded before the deadline is Dylan Cease. I'd much rather wait and send a large package for Cease at the deadline, but that's the earliest Chicago could even consider dealing him.

The Padres and Cardinals make a bold trade

The Cardinals send OF/1B Alec Burleson and RHP Jake Woodford for LHP Blake Snell

I know, it seems really weird to think that the Cardinals and Padres could make a move this season, but I see an arguement for this from both team's perspectives.

Let's start with the Padres. They locked up Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish to long turn terms with AAVs of $20 million and $18 million respectively and are paying Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, and Fernando Tatis Jr. a ton of money long-term. They have also locked up Jake Cronenworth, Ha-seong Kim, and Robert Suarez to extensions as well. It's safe to say they are not re-signing Blake Snell, especially if they have their eyes on Shohei Ohtani this offseason.

So, using his last year of control to get a young bat that will be cheap for years to come and a young arm that can eat innings would be huge for both their short-term and long-term goals as a team. The Padres have been a bottom-10 offense in baseball this year, and Alec Burleson could help change that.

For the Cardinals, Snell represents a high-upside arm that could pitch in playoff games for them if all goes right for him. He's got a 5.48 ERA in 5 starts so far this season but is coming off a season where he threw 128 innings with a 3.38 ERA. His Cy Young season in 2018 feels like an outlier at this point but with the Cardinals' success in trading for left-handed pitching, I wouldn't be surprised if Senll has a ton of success with the Cardinals, especially when he's motivated to earn a big contract this offseason.