Under the radar starting pitchers that could be targets for the St. Louis Cardinals

San Francisco Giants Anthony DeSclafani

The Giants are very similar to the White Sox. Two teams that could've contended for a playoff spot this year but are off to a rough start, and both teams have lots of pitching assets. We have heard about Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, and Michael Kopech with the White Sox, then Alex Wood and Alex Cobb for the Giants. The other Giants starter that could potentially be a good fit is DeSclafani.

DeSclafani is in his 9th season in the big leagues and just turned 33 years old. He is in year 2 of a 3-year contract and has not been healthy over those 2 seasons. After DeSclafani had the best season of his career in 2021 where he won 13 games with a 3.17 ERA, but since that time he has been limited to 13 starts, including just 5 in 2022. He has made 8 starts this season but was removed for a toe injury in his last start, and according to Giants manager Gabe Kapler he has had lingering effects from dropping a piano bench on his toe.

It will be difficult to determine how long DeSclafani could be unable to pitch, but he could get some trade interest if the Giants aren't in a position to compete in July. Before the injury, DeSclafani's 3.06 ERA is the lowest of his career, and he is currently 9th in the MLB in WHIP and 1st in walks per 9 innings with just 5 free passes in 50 innings. He could be a quality sneaky pickup for the Cardinals at the deadline.