Son of Cardinals legend could be Chaim Bloom's much-needed solution for third base

Let me be clear, Jeff Jones is not reporting that the Cardinals will make a strong play for Baltimore Orioles' Jackson Holliday, but he has read the tea leaves and believes there are some within the organization who would "move heaven and earth" to acquire Holliday.

I was writing a piece on Holliday as a trade target ever since ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that Baltimore has talked about him in trade negotiations, as the Cardinals have a clear hole at third base, and the son of Cardinals' Hall of Famer Matt Holliday would fit so well into their lineup. But as I was scrolling on X this morning, that thought of mine moved from just a fun idea I had to something I now saw Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat speculating as well, which makes this idea even more intriguing to me.

The Cardinals' trade deadline plans revolve around improving the club for the future. They currently plan on trading Dustin May and Ryne Stanek to bring back prospect capital, and they will listen on guys like JoJo Romero, Riley O'Brien, Lars Nootbaar, and Pedro Pages. While all of those deals likely center on bringing back prospects, the Cardinals should, and likely would, entertain trades for Major League talent if it fits their long-term timeline.

Holliday certainly would.

The Cardinals would be wise to bet on the upside of Jackson Holliday

Holliday, the former number one prospect in all of baseball due to his exciting mix of a double-plus hit tool and above-average power, paired with excellent athleticism, hasn't been the star that people thought he would be so far, but he's had a breakout season this year and is still just 22 years old.

Holiday is slashing .252/.359/.397 for Baltimore with five home runs and four stolen bases, good for a 116 wRC+. He mostly plays second base for them, but there's little reason to believe he couldn't shift to third base and fill the Cardinals' gaping hole there.

For St. Louis, betting on Holliday's upside, if the Orioles were open to moving him, is a potentially home run move that could jolt the organization forward in a major way if it pans out. Holliday has the potential to be one of the best players in the sport, and if he gets closer and closer to that ceiling, the Cardinals lineup would look scary long-term.

As Jones noted, and once again, he was not reporting anything, just connecting dots as speculation - the Cardinals would not, in this scenario, look to move guys like Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, or certain prospects like Rainiel Rodriguez to go after Holliday. But if Baltimore is open to moving him, the Cardinals certainly have the farm system depth to make a splash and still be looking toward the future.

That's the rub here. The only reason the Cardinals would go after Holliday is if they believe he can help them win in 2027, 2028, 2029, and beyond. If that's the case, moving prospects for him could make a ton of sense. Their infield moving forward would then consist of Holliday, Wetherholt, Masyn Winn, and Alec Burleson - pretty exciting!

The Cardinals already have a top farm system, they just had one of the best drafts in the sport, they have more pieces to move this offseason, like Nootbaar and O'Brien, and they already have a young roster. Stacking future assets is the goal here, but so is acquiring cornerstone young players. Holliday could be that for them.

To play devil's advocate, the Cardinals do have a lot of exciting young players coming who they may just rather wait for. Joshua Baez is knocking on the door of an MLB debut but still has some swing-and-miss concerns to solve. Jesus Baez, who the club acquired in the Ryan Helsley trade last trade deadline, is having a major breakout season and could be the Cardinals' future third baseman as he's slugged 26 home runs already this year. Rainiel Rodriguez is one of the best-hitting prospects in the sport and could factor into the roster by the end of 2027 or early 2028.

Will a trade for Holliday happen? Probably not. But it is fun to think about, and there are enough reasons to believe it would make a ton of sense for both sides. But connecting the dots does not equal momentum, so we'll see if there really could be a deal over the coming days or in future years.

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