St. Louis Cardinals' top 7 offseason trade candidates

3. Tommy Edman

I have written quite a bit about Tommy Edman recently. He is an extremely versatile player with a league-average bat. His defense is Gold-Glove caliber, his speed is off the charts, and he is a switch hitter who can hit well from either side of the plate. Edman can be the starting shortstop on most teams in baseball right now, and he could even start in center for a plethora of teams.

Edman is better when batting right-handed, but he is still about league average when batting left-handed. He has a career slash line of .265/.319/.408 for an OPS+ of 100. Defensively, Edman has been a positive fielder according to Outs Above Average at second base, shortstop, center field, third base, right field, and left field. His defensive versatility alone would make him one of the most ideal trade candidates this offseason.

While Edman's offense isn't going to carry his value, it is acceptable given his defensive expertise. Many teams would come clamoring for Edman's services should the Cardinals put him on the table. He is under team control for the next two years and is projected to make $8.1 million according to Spotrac and $6.5 million according to MLB Trade Rumors. Either dollar figure is manageable for teams across baseball.

Edman would bring back quite the return in a trade this offseason, and the Cardinals would surely miss his play if that's the case. He would net a strong return, but it would be tough to see a player of his caliber depart the Redbirds.