Brain Fog: Cardinals' Dylan Carlson will be traded for starting pitching

The St. Louis Cardinals are hitting rock bottom. The team can only find ways to lose games. The offense lacks any clutch, the bullpen has been unraveling, and Marmol is feeling his seat get hot, waiting for his boss to make any moves to this roster.

The talk of the trade deadline will be available starting pitchers which appears slim at the current moment. The Cardinals are at the top of the demand list and will look forward to being the aggressor in trade discussions. Knowing the circumstances to improve this roster not only to salvage the 2023 season but the future ahead of them: The St. Louis Cardinals will be trading Dylan Carlson for pitching.

Welcome to Brain Fog: where I will be making outlandish takes about the St. Louis Cardinals and trying to back them up with reasoning and logic. Anything can happen in baseball, so why not make that approach with fun scenarios that no one will entertain? Let me take the time to entertain you.

The downfall of Tyler O'Neill

2023 was the make-it-or-break-it year for Tyler O’Neill. He showed in 2021 that he is the best LF in the game and is a surefire all-star and perennial MVP candidate for years to come. 2022 was a slap to the face as O’Neill could not stay on the field due to injuries. With much uncertainty about his durability, he set out to win the CF job out of spring training and was out to prove his case for being a high-impact player on the 2023 Cardinals. The outfield was open to anyone for starting positions and the FO rolled the dice on giving O’Neill his big shot.

Then came the Oliver Marmol situation. After O’Neill gave little hustle on a relay to the plate causing him to be thrown out by Ronald Acuna Jr, Marmol went full blast against his player. For a conversation that could've been handled privately, Mamrol left O’Neill out to dry. It has been several months since this occurred but many speculate this is the beginning of the debacle of the clubhouse. 

To make matters worse, O’Neill is not contributing any value to the team. When he plays, he is only getting on base at a .283 rate. That is horrid. With a team full of outfield depth, why even bother playing someone with that kind of output? It doesn’t matter given that O’Neill has spent most of the season on the IL with a back issue…..or phantom IL. Who knows anymore with this FO.

Walker and Noot own the corners

With the demotion….and repromotion of Jordan Walker, he is not going back down to Memphis. The sales pitch of “need to work on elevating the ball” failed when a 21-year-old is more mature than the people deciding his development. Walker is simply hitting the ball hard and letting the rest play out, which is working. His defense needs much improvement which should not be ignored, but we also cannot ignore out awful the rest of the team's defense has been. 

Alec Burleson and Juan Yepez prove this point. They both have cooled off with their bats and that's all they really bring to the table. Are they bench bats now? Are they trading pieces to go get pitching depth? Will Memphis Mafia get more reinforcements for their AAA title? All we know is they will not be starting in the OF any time soon.

Lars Nootbaar is the only consistent player in the outfield. The staff, fans, and himself know what kind of player he is. The production speaks for itself and the team knows they cannot afford to lose him any longer. Expect to see Noot back in RF once he is reactivated from the IL.

“Wait…Noot will be in CF...what do you mean he will be in RF...?” 

Lets hit the main point of this article!

Tommy Edman has found his permanent home

The FO just found some unanswered prayers these past couple of weeks. Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman are now the permanent fixtures at second.  Masyn Winn now has a clear path to SS in 2024, the Cardinals are now positioned to offer trade value for pitching with Dylan Carlson. All thanks to Tommy Edman.

Edman has been the best player to come out of the farm system since Matt Carpenter. His WAR total is 14.2 in 523 games played. That's an average of 4.4 WAR/162 games. That is an All-Star caliber season every year. Mozelaik was put in a crunch going into 2023 knowing that he will eventually have to choose Donovan or Edman given the stacked OF situation. Well, things definitely have changed. Edman has owned CF in emergency relief and that allows Donovan to be flexible covering any position on the diamond. Gorman can now get more time fielding second but also can move to DH more frequently. With Walker and Noot owning the corners, now you have full access to offer Carslon and O’Neill in trade conversations. 

The Trade

The 2023 trade deadline is expected to be a dud. The trade options are very limited and will lead to teams making deals with other contending teams. For the Cardinals, there is an obvious choice on who they need to be calling: The Cleveland Guardians. The Guards are hurting for offensive production and have had the worst outfield in baseball for many years. They have pitching depth and are willing to move pieces to fix their holes in the OF. The Cardinals are in the same predicament but the opposite. Knowing the scenario provided in this article…..here is the trade:

STL receives: Shane Bieber, James Karinchak
CLE receives: Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, Jake Woodford