5 wild blockbuster moves the Cardinals should consider at the trade deadline

Note: This was written before the recent news that Mason Miller has landed on the injured list with a broken hand.

Why this makes sense for St. Louis in the immediate future:

I mean, come on. Imagine a team trying to score off of Ryan Helsley AND Mason Miller at the Cardinals' push for a postseason berth, and how much of a weapon those two become in October. Talk about shortening games, the Cardinals would be shutting down the 8th and 9th innings against the best offenses in baseball, and allow the mixture of Andrew Kittredge, JoJo Romero, Ryan Fernandez, Matthew Liberatore, and others to lock down the 6th and 7th innings of tight playoff games.

We have seen dominant bullpens carry teams deep into October before, and I'm not sure I can think of a single duo in recent history that could compare to what Miller and Helsley would provide this October. While the rotation would still be a concern, the depth and quality that would be in the Cardinals' bullpen after this deal would allow the Cardinals to pull their starters at the first sign of trouble and attempt to completely shut down and opponent with their stable of arms.

In the case of Brent Rooker, he is exactly what the Cardinals' offense needs right now - someone who can mash left-handed pitching (.948 OPS against both lefties and righties this year), hits for power, (23 HR in 365 PA) and is incredibly productive with runners in scoring position (1.214 OPS with RISP). He is the absolute perfect fit offensively for this club, and with how badly they could use another bat like his, you find a way to make room for him

Rooker is primarily a DH, but he can play corner OF occasionally as needed. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado (but mostly Goldschmidt) have not been good enough this year to "need" to DH when they need a day off their feet, so the Cardinals could DH Rooker every day and have him cover the corner outfield with Contreras needs a day off.

Why this makes sense for St. Louis long-term:

This is a massive price to pay for the Cardinals, but the payoff would not just be for their 2024 stretch run, but for multiple seasons to come.

Rooker is not a free agent until 2028 and Mason Miller does not hit the open market until 2030, so while the Cardinals would be giving away a ton of control between Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Tink Hence, and Ivan Herrera, they would be acquiring a lot in return between Miller and Rooker.

I'm still a believer in Jordan Walker, and his 90th percentile outcome as a player blows Rooker out of the water value-wise, but if we are being honest, wouldn't you smash a button right now if you could lock in Rooker's offensive production for Walker over the next few years? Turning Walker's potential into the reality of Rooker is something to consider when they acquire a talent like Miller in the deal. No, I would not swap Walker for Rooker right now, but I would move Walker and more for Miller, which is what this deal really is.

In this deal, the Cardinals are only giving up one player who is currently contributing in St. Louis is Gorman, but his inconsistencies have been a major problem for St. Louis this year and the left-handed production from Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, and Lars Nootbaar lessens the need for him long-term. Turning him into the right-handed production they desperately need makes a lot of sense.

Giving up Tink Hence is a tough pill to swallow, but we can only hope Hence is as impactful of an arm as Miller is today, and Miller has only one year less of control! Herrera is a valuable piece as well but could be used to close this deal for an Athletics team that is continuing to build for the future.

Also don't forget this nugget, Mason Miller still may get a chance to become a front-line starter again. The Athletics moved Miller to the bullpen to keep him healthy for 2024 and allow him to produce, and then try him in the rotation again in 2025. Obviously Miller has been far more dominant than anyone could have imagined, so it may not be quite as simple to make that move. But for the Cardinals, they would have that option if they desired.

If the Cardinals wanted to keep Miller in the bullpen, then the Cardinals could look to flip Helsley in the offseason to recoup some of the value they gave up, which also has to be taken into account. Helsley is a free agent following the 2025 season, so it could make sense to move him instead of paying him.

This would be a wild deal and I'm not even sure the Athletics say yes, but if I am in the Cardinals front office, we are having a bunch of meetings to talk through the ramifications of a deal like this and figuring out if we should go for it. The fact that Miller and Rooker are cost-controlled going forward makes this deal very appealing, even with the amount of talent they would be giving away here.