Ranking the Cardinals 6 most valuable trade candidates they can sell this offseason

#5 - Steven Matz

I did not include Miles Mikolas on this list as the Cardinals' new direction does not seem to necessitate his trade. The Cardinals would need to eat the majority of his contract to get a club to consider acquiring him, and at that point, wouldn't it just make sense to let him provide some innings next year and potentially get moved at the deadline as a rental arm if he pitches well? The Cardinals need at least some arms in their rotation to start next year, even if we know Mikolas won't provide quality innings.

Steven Matz, on the other hand, I could see the Cardinals getting a deal done if the right team comes along. Matz has dealt with injuries his entire contract with the Cardinals, and the $12.5 million he is owed in the final year of his deal in 2025 is not a crazy number.

I do think the Cardinals would have to pay it down a bit in a trade, but not much. Like Arenado, I wouldn't expect the Cardinals to get much in a trade, but it's far less money for them to eat to get any value back.

A team could trade a very low-rated prospect for Matz while the Cardinals eat $4m-$5m of his deal. In doing so, the acquiring club would get Matz at like $7 million or $8 million in 2025, which would be a bargain if he is a starter and a slight overpay if he ends up in their bullpen. If the Cardinals kicked in another million or two, then it becomes quite the bargain play for that club.

Why would a team consider this? Well, the typical veteran starter will get a minimum of $12 million on the open market, so acquiring Matz with money kicked in would save payroll for a club that needed veteran pitching depth. Matz can also pitch out of the bullpen unlike a lot of starters in that price range in free agency, making that versatility a bit interesting to me.

Arms are always in demand, even ones as messy as Matz. Again, I'm not expecting anything of value for Matz here, but you're likely eating a lot less dollars than Arenado, Matz does not have a no-trade clause, and more teams could be interested.

The rest of the names on this list have varying levels of arguments for real value in return.