7 starting pitchers the Cardinals may trade for at the MLB trade deadline

The Major League Baseball trade deadline has already been a wild one, as the market has finally begun to move after the Los Angeles Angles declared that two-way star Shohei Ohtani would not be traded at the deadline. One team that has remained patient thus far but is expected to make a lot of moves is the St. Louis Cardinals.

I got married on July 22nd and have been on my honeymoon this past week, but am plugged back in and have been asking around about different names the Cardinals may be connected to in the next few days. There are a number of arms that could be of interest to St. Louis, and there are different ways they could acquire them.

First, they could grab MLB-ready arms that have yet to establish themselves as starters at the highest level through their "seller" moves with arms like Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, and Jordan Hicks.

Second, they could go big with a "buyer" move by moving one of their young bats like Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan, or Lars Nootbaar for a controllable big-league arm, with the Seattle Mariners being the team consistently linked for such a deal.

Lastly, there are strong links with the New York Yankees about a Dylan Carlson trade, and there are some young arms that the Cardinals could get in return for him if they swung a deal. Other names to watch that St. Louis could use as trade bait include Ryan Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos, Tommy Edman, and Alec Burleson.

Here are 7 starting pitchers I am hearing that the Cardinals could be targeting this deadline

Logan Gilbert

Logan Gilbert is the biggest fish the Cardinals are linked to at this deadline, but it remains unclear if the Mariners would move Gilbert, and what kind of cost it will be. To be clear, he will be very expensive, likely requiring at least one of Gorman, Nootbaar, or Donovan plus other pieces, and perhaps even two of those names.

There are some within the industry that believe the Mariners would not move Gilbert unless it was in a move to add a star-level bat, something they wouldn't categorize anyone on the Cardinals as outside of Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, or Jordan Walker, which the Cardinals are not moving any of those three players.

Gilbert would not be the ace the Cardinals need, but he would be an excellent number two or three starter in their rotation on a very cheap contract for years. If the Cardinals are going to overhaul their rotation in one offseason and do so in a meaningful way, they are going to need to acquire a number one, two, or three starter on a cheap deal so that they can funnel more salary to the other rotation spots. If the Cardinals have to go out and pay each of their new top starters in free agency, then they likely will not be targeting the kinds of "ace" level pitchers they need.

At the moment, a Gilbert deal still feels unlikely, but keep an eye out on Mariners as there are a few other names on this list that I feel like have a better shot of being moved.

Clayton Beeter

Recently, Clayton Beeter has been directly connected to the Cardinals as a name they have discussed acquiring from the Yankees. With Dylan Carlson being a target of the Yankees, and the Cardinals also having other pieces that could interest them, I would pay close attention to the Yankees' arms that are being rumored.

Beeter, 24, recently pitched in the MLB Futures game and is currently in the Yankees Triple-A affiliate. He's pitched in 17 games with a 7-4 record and a 3.44 ERA over 83.2 innings of work. He's a strikeout pitcher, already punching out 101 batters this year, so he fits with the strategy of acquiring more swing-and-miss stuff.

There are concerns he may end up being a reliever long-term, but he's been very good as a starter to this point, and even if he fell into that role eventually, the Cardinals also need bullpen help badly. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and he utilizes both a slider and curveball to get those swings and misses.

Beeter is ranked 13th in the Yankees system, so it makes a lot of sense that he would end up in a deal should the Cardinals and Yankees swing one.

Randy Vasquez

Randy Vasquez is the Yankees' 12th-best prospect, but he has actually seen some big-league action this year. In three starters for New York, Vasquez is 1-1 with a 1.17 ERA.

Vasquez has some pretty filthy stuff himself, with the best-graded curveball in the Yankees system and a fastball that sits in the mid-90s but can get up to 100 MPH.

Like Beeter, there are concerns long-term about whether or not he can last in the rotation, but he would also have a high upside as a bullpen arm. Continuing to improve his strike-throwing ability and refining another secondary pitch, such as his slider or changeup, will go a long way toward helping his cause.

Bryan Woo

Bryan Woo is the starter I think the Mariners may be willing to part with in a trade for a young bat. The Cardinals would be wise to pursue him.

Woo snuck into MLB's top 100 prospects this year and features multiple fastballs that he uses to strike batters out. At just 23 and only 10 starts into his big league career, he is 1-3 with a 4.96 ERA. Woo was really good in his first few starts, hit a rocky stretch, and turned things around a bit in his last start against Arizona. He's not a ready-made number two or three starter like Gilbert, but the potential is there.

Woo would be under team control through 2029, which is a huge advantage for the Cardinals. Should a deal come to be, I would guess Woo is packaged with one or two prospects to acquire one of Gorman, Donovan, or Nootbaar.

Brandon Pfaadt

The Arizona Diamondbacks continue to be linked to the Cardinals for a Jordan Montgomery trade, but they are not super deep in pitching prospects. But the number one arm in their system, Brandon Pfaadt, is the 21st overall prospect in all of baseball and has already seen action in the Arizona rotation.

Unfortunately, it has not been with good results.

In 8 starts, Pfaadt has an 8.20 ERA and has only managed to complete 37.1 innings of work. Pfaadt was a major strikeout pitcher in the minor leagues and also boasted a low walk rate, which is why scouts love him. There is no reason to give up on Pfaadt as a top pitching prospect, but Arizona may decide to cash his value in for a starter, like Montgomery, who can help them compete for a World Series this year.

In order to get Arizona to part with Pfaadt, I'm guessing the Cardinals will have to model a deal similar to what the White Sox have been doing, pairing a rental stater with a rental reliever. Perhaps sending Mongomery with one of Jordan Hicks or Chris Stratton would fetch a package headlined by Pfaadt.

Clarke Schmidt

The last name on this list is another Yankees, Clarke Schmidt. In 22 games this season (21 of them starts), he has posted a 4.39 ERA with 99 SO in 104.2 innings of work. Over his last 15 games though, he has a 3.82 ERA and has credited a change in his repertoire usage for better results.

Why would Schmidt be a fit for St. Louis? Well again, he's a cost-controlled arm and has the ceiling to slot in as a very good number three starter or perhaps a number two at some point. For now, he would be a really nice number three or four starter for St. Louis

Some deal involving Dylan Carlson is where this could get done for St. Louis, but a combination of Carlson and/or some of their impending free agents could fetch St. Louis Schmidt along with some of the other arms mentioned before.

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