Ranking the Cardinals' 6 most valuable trade assets they can sell at the deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals should be preparing to sell at this year's trade deadline, but how valuable are the assets that could be up for grabs?

The Cardinals don't need to go overboard with selling pieces from their roster, as a large chunk of their big league roster could be a part of their young core moving forward. Expiring assets should for sure be up for grabs, but there are some players with team control that could be interesting to shop as well.

Today, I want to rank the assets that the Cardinals could (and should) be shopping at the trade deadline over the next week and a half. I'm not saying all of these players will be traded, but they are all names that I could possibly see moved before the deadline passes. I'm also not including names that I just do not see the Cardinals shopping, so if a name is missing that you were looking for, I highly doubt that player is moved.

Here are the six most valuable Cardinals trade chips that they can sell at the trade deadline

Wild Cards: Jordan Walker/Nolan Gorman

I'm not sure the Cardinals would actually be ready to shop either of Jordan Walker or Nolan Gorman at this year's trade deadline, but if they did, I have a really difficult time knowing how to value them in a potential trade.

Walker is just a few years removed from a very encouraging rookie year, where he was 16% above league average at the plate as just a 21-year-old. But the former top 10 prospect in all of baseball now looks completely lost at the plate, posting a .554 OPS in his runway season. The Cardinals don't seem to know what to do with Walker right now, and maybe the best thing for him is a change of scenery.

Nolan Gorman, on the other hand, has looked a lot more comfortable at the plate this summer, but he still hasn't quite earned himself a major role on the roster either. Even before he landed on the injured list this weekend with a back injury, he was struggling to get into the lineup consistently. With all the options they have for second base, third base, and designated hitter right now, that problem may remain for at least the remainder of the year.

The Cardinals could look to shop either of them to help clear up one of those logjams, but only with the blessing of Chaim Bloom. I personally doubt they'd move Gorman now that he has this injury and with the intrigue he's shown this summer, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they parted ways with Walker at this point.