Cardinals Trade Rumor Roundup: Nolan Arenado, Tyler O'Neill, Jordan Hicks, more

With the trade deadline just days away, the St. Louis Cardinals are fielding a lot of calls. While St. Louis fans would prefer the Cardinals be in the position to buy at the deadline, the 2023 season hasn't gone their way and now it looks like several members of their roster are very much on the market.

These are the latest Cardinals trade rumors ahead of the trade deadline

This time of year can be very hectic and many of the trade rumors that get floated around are speculation from national writers that just need to fill some column space. However, others are based on actual negotiations. To help keep track on the latest rumors going into the weekend before the trade deadline, here is where things stand with the Cardinals key trade pieces.

Nolan Arenado

While the team had been steadfast in not wanting to trade key pieces of their core, Nolan Arenado's name surprisingly came up in a pretty big rumor yesterday as it sounds like St. Louis is having really discussions with the Dodgers that would send Arenado to LA. Arenado has a full no-trade clause in his contract, but the reporting around these talks also indicated that Arenado would be willing to waive it to play in LA if a deal were to get done. The Dodgers would have to put young pitching on the table with Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone being high on the Cardinals' wish list.

Tyler O'Neill

It wasn't that long ago that O'Neill's injury history and seemingly fractured relationship with the Cardinals made him very likely to get moved at the trade deadline. However, Katie Woo reported that while the Cardinals are in sell mode, moving O'Neill at the deadline is very unlikely ($). The issue is that while O'Neill has a ton of upside, St. Louis would be selling low on him because of his injuries. With the team looking to compete in 2024, it looks like they prefer to keep his talent around in the hopes he can help them next year.

Jordan Hicks

A pending free agent, Hicks has some of the biggest upside of any of the relievers on the trade market at the deadline. There is still hope that the Cardinals and Hicks can work out a contract extension, but there hasn't been much progress there. If they can't come to terms, Hicks will most certainly get traded and it sounds like the Texas Rangers are aggressively pursuing adding the flamethrowing Hicks if he becomes available.

Jordan Montgomery

Montgomery is still expected to be traded by the trade deadline given that he is a pending free agent and, well, the 2023 is a lost cause. Any number of contending teams are going to be interested in Montgomery and there has not been any meaningful contact between St. Louis and Jordan on an extension. The Red Sox, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers have all been mentioned as options although the sources haven't been completely reliable on those connections so far.

Jack Flaherty

With Flaherty struggling the last couple seasons, his trade market hasn't been nearly as robust as the Cardinals would have hoped. A report from Mark Feinsand a month or so ago had the Braves, Giants, and Rays as potential fits for a trade, but there hasn't been a lot of reporting on Flaherty of late.

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