Cardinals Rumors: Here are five names the club may be targeting right now

Not Happening: Fernando Tatis Jr. and Trevor Bauer

First, let's talk about Fernando Tatis Jr. Ever since his PED suspension, fans around baseball have been theorizing the Padres could deal with him before the 2023 season after disappointing the whole organization. I hate to break it to you, but Tatis is not going anywhere.

Tatis is still one of the top 10 players in baseball, in his early 20s, and locked up long-term on a very reasonable deal. The Padres are primed to have the best lineup in baseball with Tatis, Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and company, and I do not see the Padres messing with that.

The elephant in the room for the Padres is that they honestly need to keep him long-term. They just traded away top prospect and fellow shortstop CJ Abrams in the Juan Soto deal, and Soto is not locked up long-term. Machado is likely hitting free agency in 2023. There's a chance the Padres could lose some of their star power soon, and they cannot afford to sell low on Tatis.

The other name, Trevor Bauer, was just reinstated by Major League Baseball after serving an indefinite suspension for allegations of sexual assault. The Los Angeles Dodgers just released Bauer and will have to pay the $23 million he is owed this season to pitch for someone else.

I won't get into all of the details about why I do not see a Bauer signing for the Cardinals, but one thing is for certain, Bauer's history of on-field and off-field antics is not something the Cardinals' organization likes to bring into the fold. I just do not see how Bauer would fit in with how this front office operates. I expect Bauer to sign somewhere, but I do not see St. Louis as a remote possibility.