The Cardinals are in talks for Pablo Lopez, here is what the trade may look like

Trade #1 - Dylan Carlson for Pablo Lopez

In my opinion, the Cardinals would be selling very low on Dylan Carlson in this trade, but based on their willingness to part with him in other deals this off-season, I think the possibility of a Carlson-Lopez swap has to be considered.

It is no secret that the Marlins want to improve their lineup and specifically would like to upgrade in center field. Carlson is a former top prospect in all of baseball and was very good in his rookie season for St. Louis, but 2022 seemed to put a bad taste in the mouth of fans. Carlson dealt with a wrist injury that limited a lot of what he could do offensively and it showed. His .695 OPS made him tough to play consistently down the stretch in 2022, especially against right-handed pitching.

Carlson is far too talented to repeat the same struggles he had in 2022. What's encouraging is that even in a down season, he still put up a .845 OPS against left-handed pitching and played Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field. It seems likely that Carlson reestablishes himself as a promising player in 2023.

For the Marlins, grabbing Carlson would be a great way to swap one of their many starters for a controllable center fielder who could end up hitting at the top of their lineup for years to come. If I were the Cardinals, I would look at a different deal instead.