St. Louis Cardinals trade packages for recently demoted players

1B Spencer Torkelson

Spencer Torkelson is now in his 3rd year in the majors. He was drafted first overall in the 2020 draft by the Detroit Tigers out of Arizona State. Torkelson, now 24, was once ranked as a top-5 prospect in all of baseball.

Throughout the first baseman's minor league career, he was known for his ridiculous power. Torkelson often had slugging percentages greater than .500, and his ISO was near .300 in his first year of professional baseball. Torkelson jumped up the minors very quickly, seeing all three levels in 2021.

He made his MLB debut in 2022, and things didn't come as easily for the right-handed power hitter. While his strikeout rate of 24.7% isn't exorbitant, it's greater than what he was accustomed to as a prospect. The major dropoff has been in the righty's ability to get on base, primarily with walks. He is walking at a rate well below league average.

While he has above-average speed, Torkelson's defense is nothing to write home about. He has been a negative defender each year according to Outs Above Average, primarily due to his inability to move to his right.

Spencer Torkelson is someone who may benefit from a change of scenery. He's well past his top prospect days, and his best season, 2023, featured him being a slightly above-average batter (107 wRC+) with terrible defense. His trade value is about as low as it'll get, especially considering the fact that he'll be arbitration-eligible next year, thus making him slightly more expensive.

It won't take much to pry Torkelson away from the Detroit Tigers. He is currently slashing .201/.266/.330 with a wRC+ of just 71; his .129 ISO is only marginally better than his worst year in 2022. The Cardinals could acquire him (though they may not even want to mess with him) for a low-end organizational prospect.

Cardinals trade: RHP Michael McGreevy
Tigers trade: 1B Spencer Torkelson