Playing "shop, listen to offers, or keep" on the St. Louis Cardinals' young bats

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If the St. Louis Cardinals are going to acquire proven, cost-controlled talent at this year's trade deadline, it's going to take one of their young bats.

Tommy Edman, Nolan Gorman, Dylan Carlson, Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker, and Brendan Donovan are all coveted by teams around the league, and for good reason. Each of them holds different values in trades, but at the end of the day, teams are interested.

The Cardinals need to balance keeping the best possible talent for their own club while also being willing to leverage some of that talent to improve their pitching. For example, the Cardinals may think one of their young bats is better than another, but they may have to leverage the one they value more in order to get the player they want.

It's also not quite as simple as "just trade X player". If the right deal is there, sure you may a deal. But none of these six players should be dealt just because.

In this list, I'm going to break each of those young bats into three categories.

Keep: I do not see a scenario that makes sense to trade them.

Listen to offers: I'm not shopping this player, and I'd prefer to keep them, but if a team declines my offer and asks for them instead, or comes calling about them, I'm open to negotiations.

Shop: I am using this player as a trade piece and would prefer to part with them in a deal for controllable pitching. But, I'm not trading them unless it makes sense for the team.

Here are the young bats I would keep, listen to offers on, or shop if I am the Cardinals

Keep: Jordan Walker

This is an easy one. Jordan Walker is just 21 years old and has put up a .775 OPS in his first 205 MLB at-bats. He's had different cold streaks at the plate like every player does, but time and time again he shows why he was the number one prospect in all of baseball.

Yes, his defense is awful, but he's not even a full year into playing the position professionally, has all of the tools to be a good defensive outfielder, and appears to have the attitude and worth ethic necessary to improve there.

Walker is the best pure hitter of the bunch and still packs a ton of power. While he has not tapped into it yet as you would think for a guy his size, he hits the ball hard all the time, and as his swing matures, he's at least a 25-30 HR guy, which the potential to be a 40 HR player with his body type.

Listen to offers: Lars Nootbaar

I really like Lars Nootbaar, but if he is the piece that stands in the way of the Cardinals getting starting pitching with club control, I'm exploring that option.

I wouldn't be quick to trade Nootbaar by any means, but I think it's unrealistic of the Cardinals to say he can be had in a trade. Take for example Logan Gilbert. FanGraphs has him ranked as the 33rd most valuable player in baseball, while Nootbaar is the 47th most valuable.

Honestly, even for how much I love Nootbaar, I can see this being the sell high point for him if it means bringing back someone like Gilbert. Nootbaar could continue to develop as a hitter and be a very good piece for a team like the Mariners, but it is still probably worth the value you are getting from Gilbert.

If there isn't a young MLB arm available for Nootbaar, then sure, I am not going to be parting ways with him. But I do think he's the guy that can get St. Louis the kind of arm they need badly, and I don't think it would hurt as bad as giving up Walker or some of the other names on this list.

Shop: Tommy Edman

Tommy Edman is the kind of player you can only truly appreciate if he is on your team. He's never going to be as valuable in a trade as he will be to your club. Still, there appears to be interest in Edman around the league, and if St. Louis wants to upgrade their team, I think Edman is the first guy on this list I would want to deal.

Nolan Gorman is a difference maker offensively and has really improved defensively (more on that later). Brendan Donovan is not the defender Edman is, but he is a much better hitter, and has the same kind of versatility. Jordan Walker is Jordan Walker. Lars Nootbaar is an on-base machine who plays very good outfield defense. Dylan Carlson is another good outfield defender who's biggest offensive strength is hitting left-handed pitching, like Edman, but has room to grow as a player.

None of those things are knocks against Edman, they are just reasons to consider making him available, especially with Masyn Winn on the way. I think if Edman reamins with the club, he's going to end up falling into a utility player role rather than an every day player. Still very valuable, but not worth making "untouchable".

Now, I personally do not think he gets the Cardinals the kind of pitcher we all want them to acquire. If he does, awesome. If not, I still think it's still worth seeing what his value is around the league. I can't imagine it being any higher than it is now with still a lot of team control.

Keep: Brendan Donovan

Brendan Donovan is no longer just a scrappy player who knows how to win. He still is that, but it's also time to respect him a legit difference maker for the Cardinals. Here are his numbers since 5/23.

.321/.410/.522, 8 HR, 23 RBI, 158 wRC+, 2.0 WAR

That is tied for the 13th-best WAR since that date, and he has the 9th-best wRC+ in baseball. Pair that with the ability to play six positions, and you have yourself an extremely valuable ball player.

Donovan has also been the Cardinals' most "clutch hitter" so far this year, proving that he comes through when the club needs him the most. He's under team control through the 2028 season, and it's no wonder why teams are so interested in hiim.

Sure, if some club comes in with an offer the Cardinals cannot refuse, he's techinically not untouchable. But other than that, the Cardinals have plenty of other assets worth shopping around.

Keep: Nolan Gorman

Originally, I had Nolan Gorman as a "listen to offers" kind of player. But the more I think about it, the more I think the Cardinals need to hold onto Gorman.

I wrote about his resurgence a few days ago, and Gorman continues to show the Cardinals why his bat is something they have desperately needed for so long. When was the last time the Cardinals had a power bat from the left side like Gorman? Prime Matt Carpenter?

Gorman is a guy who is going to hit 30+ HR a year, and potentially even 40+ HR. He has developed a very good eye at the plate, so he will get on base at a nice clip as well. His improvement defensively at second base as well has been huge for his value, as now you have an above-average defender at second base who is going to be one of, if the not best hitter, at his position.

The one major flaw with Gorman is his streakiness, where he can go ice cold for a whole month like he did in June. But honestly, you take the bad with all the good when you have a talent like Gorman. He is still 23, so he has time to mature even more as a hitter for the club.

Shop: Dylan Carlson

I like every player on this list. Honestly, I think Dylan Carlson has not gotten a fair shake as a Cardinal. But with how the Cardinals continue to use him as the club's fourth outfielder, I'd rather them capitlzie on his trade value then relegate him to such a role.

If they were willing to commit to him as an everyday outfielder, I'd put him in the "listen to offers" category, but if they do not plan to do so, he has to be shopped.

Carlson, since retuning from the IL on June 9th, has slashed .244/.416/.385 (.801 OPS), 16.8% walk rate, 19.8% strikeout rate, and a 135 wRC+. Most of his damage continues to be against left-handed pitching, but it's fair to say Carlson just has not gotten enough run against right-handed pitching to know what he truly is.

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Yes, he's gotten a lot of MLB plate appearances against them, but last year he dealt with a significant wrist injury, and this year, after making changes to his swing and putting on muscle, he has never gotten the extended run needed to show if he can be better.

Now, I also see the arguments that people make about Carlson's inability to hit right-handed pitching just being who he is. I get it, I've felt that way before too, and it seems to be how the Cardinals feel about him. If that's the case, they might as well shop him around.

There appears to be strong interest around the league, with the New York Yankees being one team that seems to be a strong match.

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