7 remaining trade partners for the Cardinals and what trade pieces they can offer

New York Yankees

Tradeable pieces: Jack Flaherty, Dylan Carlson, Tyler O'Neill, Andrew Knizner, Ryan Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos, Alec Burleson, and Paul DeJong

Pieces to acquire: Clarke Schmidt, Clayton Beeter, Randy Vasquez, Yoendrys Gomez, Drew Thorpe, Will Warren, and Brando Mayea

The Cardinals and Yankees remain two teams that seem like perfect trade partners, with the Yankees being interested in a number of Cardinals players and the teams aligning well in terms of need.

Clarke Schmidt has already some seasoning at the Major League level and has improved a lot over the last few months as a starter. Clayton Beeter and Randy Vasquez are near MLB-ready arms who have been connected with St. Louis already. Will Warren, Drew Thorpe, and Yoendrys Gomez are three other arms to watch with real intrigue as well.

Brandon Mayea is a lottery ticket prospect, with the potential to be a five-tool center fielder that the Cardinals could take a chance on. He is still just 17 years old and very raw but could blossom into one of the best prospects in baseball.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Tradable pieces: Jack Flaherty, Ryan Helsley, and Giovanny Gallegos

Pieces to acquire: Brandon Pfaadt, Blake Walston, Landon Sims, and Dylan Ray

The Diamondbacks are ready to make a real run this year and could look to add an arm to their rotation in the form of Jack Flaherty or shore up their bullpen with Helsley or Gallegos.

If the Cardinals were to package Helsley with Flaherty or Gallegos, there's a chance that Pfaadt along with other names could come back to St. Louis in a deal. Pfaadt has struggled at the MLB level but is still a top-30 prospect in all of baseball.

Walston does not offer the same kind of upside as a Pfaadt but would represent another solid, near-MLB-ready arm for St. Louis to add to their system. Landon Sims looks to be a future high-end reliever but is still down in Single-A. Dylan Ray is not highly ranked as a prospect but could be an interesting target in a deal, as he has a mid-90s fastball with a really nice slider and potential behind his curveball. He is far away from the Majors as well but once again provides much-needed organizational pitching depth for the future of the Cardinals.

Miami Marlins

Tradeable pieces: Jack Flaherty, Dylan Carlson, Tyler O'Neill, and Alec Burleson

Pieces to acquire: Max Mayer, Dax Fulton, Sixto Sanchez, Jake Eder, and Josh Simpson

The Marlins have checked in on Jack Flaherty in recent days, and still seem to be a team that could be interested in adding a position player to their mix as well. The Marlins under first-year manager Skip Schumaker are looking to make the playoffs and build off the success this young team has found.

I highly doubt they'll move MLB arms like Jesus Luzardo, Trevor Rogers, or Edward Cabrera, but as always, the Marlins have plenty of arms developing in the minors.

Max Meyer is their top prospect but is coming off Tommy John surgery and is likely out until 2024. If the Cardinals offer the Marlins a package of players, could they part with a talent like Meyer? If not, Sixto Sanchez has fallen down prospect boards due to injuries and could be a high-upside move for the Cardinals, although he has not pitched since 2020 and his timetable is still unclear.

Other names that could interest the Cardinals are Jake Eder and Dax Fulton, who are intriguing left-handed arms that could make their debuts as soon as 2024. Josh Simpson is not nearly the prospect of those other names but could provide organizational depth as well.

Baltimore Orioles

Tradeable pieces: Dylan Carlson and Jack Flaherty

Pieces to acquire: DL Hall, Heston Kjerstad, Connor Norby, Cade Povich, Seth Johnson, Chase McDermott

The Baltimore Orioles remain an interesting trade partner for St. Louis, as they've checked in on their pitching before and now reportedly are looking at Dylan Carlson as well.

The Orioles are not rich with pitching prospects, but they are a loaded system due to their position player group. Even after graduating a lot of players recently, this still arguably has the best farm system in the game of baseball.

Why would the Cardinals deal with them if they aren't getting pitching in return? Well, it's all about value.

If the most valuable prospect they are being offered by any team for an asset is a position player from Baltimore, why not take it? If it's for an impending free agent or a player like Carlson that they apparently don't value long-term, then it is more important to get the most talent in return and worry about fit later.

If the Cardinals load up with a prospect like Kjerstad, Norby, or another great position player talent, that helps them to potentially deal off one of their young bats for pitching, or even flip the talent they acquire in this deal later for pitching in the offseason. They are not going to solve their 2024 rotation at this deadline, but they can set themselves up to finish it off in the offseason.

Pitching prospects who could be on the move though include the likes of DL Hall, Cade Povich, Seth Johnson, and Chase McDermott.

Seattle Mariners

Tradeable piece: Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Dylan Carlson, Alec Burleson, Tommy Edman, prospects

Pieces to acquire: Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, and Emerson Hancock

We've talked about it at length, but if the Cardinals want to get immediate help for the 2024 rotation, the Mariners make the most sense as a trade partner.

Seattle is looking for some bats with control to add to their lineup, and the Cardinals have plenty of those to offer. In order to get one of their young arms though, it'll cost a pretty penny.

Gorman, Nootbaar, and/or Donovan would certainly have to go in a deal for Gilbert, Woo, or Miller. Gilbert may even require two of those in a package. Woo and Miller are hard to equate the value of, as I personally feel like the Cardinals would get one of those names plus more for one of those bats, but Mariners' folks probably feel the opposite. After a one-on-one meeting with John Mozeliak, Nightengale has reported that Edman, Donovan, and Carlson are guys the Cardinals are shopping.

Emerson Hancock is a top pitching prospect to watch, as he could be the centerpiece of a package for one of the Cardinals' bats if they cannot agree on a deal for one of those three arms already in their rotation.

Chicago White Sox

Tradeable piece: Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Dylan Carlson, Alec Burleson, Tommy Edman, prospects

Piece to acquire: Dylan Cease

Here we go again. According to Ken Rosenthal, the White Sox are now listening to offers on Dylan Cease, but that does not mean they will in fact trade him. It will take a very strong package to get a deal done, but this could be the ace the Cardinals are looking for.

One or two of Gorman, Nootbaar, and Donovan, and/or some other pieces like Tommy Edman, Dylan Carlson, and Alec Burleson are likely the starting point for a Cease trade, and then a few of the Cardinals prospects as well. Names like Ivan Herrera, Gordon Graceffo, and Cooper Hjerpe could be of interest to the White Sox.

Chicago is in rebuild mode, and Cease still has multiple years of club control. They do not need to trade him, but if they can get a haul to jumpstart their rebuild, it's something they'll be open to.

Cleveland Guardians

Tradable pieces: Tommy Edman, Dylan Carlson, Tyler O'Neill, Juan Yepez, and Alec Burleson

Piece to acquire: Aaron Civale

Here is something to keep tabs on. The Cleveland Guardians are contemplating trading starter Aaron Civale, who is under tram control through 2025 and would be an excellent middle-of-the-rotatoin addition for the Cardinals.

So far this year, Civale has a 5-2 record with a 2.34 ERA in 13 games for the Guardians. In his piece on The Athletic (subscription required), Zach Meisel linked both St. Louis and Baltimore to a Civale trade due to the number of outfielders both teams have that they can deal from.

Would Civale be an ace? No. But he fills a huge need and helps them put their dollars toward an ace in free agency. I also believe he would come at a cheaper price than the Mariners starters, would is interesting to note.

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