Cardinals: 3 Dylan Carlson trades with the Dodgers that make too much sense

Trade #3 - Best catcher/DH tandem in baseball

If you look around the best teams in baseball, one of the growing trends is having multiple starting caliber catchers on your roster to keep their guys fresh throughout the grueling 162 game schedule. The Braves just traded for Sean Murphy despite having Travis d'Arnaud, and the Cardinals could mimic that thinking here.

The first question anyone would be why on earth would the Dodgers want to trade one o the best catchers in baseball? Adam Weinrib on Dodgers Way addressed the rumor of a Will Smith trade a few months ago, as the Dodgers could roll with Austin Barnes and top prospect Diego Cartaya if they capitalize on Smith's value.

In this scenario, the Dodgers get Carlson, a young bat for their DH and outfield in Juan Yepez, and a third quality catcher in Ivan Herrera to make up for Smith's absence. I could honestly see it needing to be Nolan Gorman instead of Juan Yepez, but tried to stay relatively close to the framework of the proposed Oakland trade.

In 2022, Smith slashed .260/.343/.465 with 24 HR and 87 RBI for the Dodgers, and is under team control through the 2025 season. He has an elite bat and plays good defense behind the plate, making him an excellent platoon pairing between DH and catcher for St. Louis.

Willson Contreras and Smith would both be able to rest frequently, so when they are catching, they are fresh and can still mash the baseball.

What did you think of these three trades? Would you do any of them? Do you have a different trade to propose? Comment your thoughts below!