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

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.