Trade News: Top Offensive Prospect Linesman Commits To Louisville ….
St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak recently told reporters that the team would be buyers, not sellers at the deadline. He made the comments at an annual availability for Cardinals podcasters and bloggers. Mozeliak told the group the team would be looking for a right-handed center fielder, bullpen arms, and a starting pitcher. If they end up buying, the Cardinals will need trade chips to give up in those deals. Here are a few Cardinals players and prospects who could be on the move.
Trade Chips the Cardinals Have for This Year’s Deadline
What Do the Cardinals Have to Offer?
The Cardinals have the 23rd-ranked farm system in baseball, according to MLB.com. The organization doesn’t have an abundance of highly sought-after prospects to deal for a big splash. This will limit them when it comes to catching one of the bigger fish at the 2024 trade deadline.
Stomping on the competition – Elephant tips Euros host Germany for…
The team does have some MLB-level talent they could look to move around to fill holes. A bottleneck in the organization at certain levels could see the team unload players who have high potential, but have been struggling of late. Expiring deals like star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt‘s or utility man Brendan Donovan‘s could be tempting if the team falls out of contention in the next six weeks. If the Cardinals do feel like they have what it takes in the next few weeks, those pieces are unlikely to go.
Outfielders Who Could Get a Change of Scenery
Despite the Cardinals looking for an outfielder at the deadline, the position is also where some of their more attractive trade pieces lie. Former top prospect Jordan Walker has been one name rumored to be on the move. The team sent him down in May after a brutal start to his season with a .155/.239/.259 slash line. While he has improved at Triple-A, it hasn’t been enough to earn him a call-up to the Cardinals. The team maintains they want to see him in the majors again.
“Do I think we’ll see him back this season? I do,” Mozeliak told KMOX Radio on June 10. “I think in this particular case we’ve got to be patient and let him try to work through some things down there and not put the pressure on him to try and do it up here.”
Stomping on the competition – Elephant tips Euros host Germany for…
The team does have some MLB-level talent they could look to move around to fill holes. A bottleneck in the organization at certain levels could see the team unload players who have high potential, but have been struggling of late. Expiring deals like star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt‘s or utility man Brendan Donovan‘s could be tempting if the team falls out of contention in the next six weeks. If the Cardinals do feel like they have what it takes in the next few weeks, those pieces are unlikely to go.
Outfielders Who Could Get a Change of Scenery
Despite the Cardinals looking for an outfielder at the deadline, the position is also where some of their more attractive trade pieces lie. Former top prospect Jordan Walker has been one name rumored to be on the move. The team sent him down in May after a brutal start to his season with a .155/.239/.259 slash line. While he has improved at Triple-A, it hasn’t been enough to earn him a call-up to the Cardinals. The team maintains they want to see him in the majors again.
“Do I think we’ll see him back this season? I do,” Mozeliak told KMOX Radio on June 10. “I think in this particular case we’ve got to be patient and let him try to work through some things down there and not put the pressure on him to try and do it up here.”
Walker is just 22 years old and still has the tools that made him a highly sought-after prospect in the first place. He was a first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. In his rookie season in 2023, Walker slashed .276/.342/.445 in 117 games. He hit 16 home runs and had 51 RBI in those games.
Another First-Rounder Possibly on the Move
A fellow former first-round draft pick could also be on the trading block. Dylan Carlson was selected in the first round in 2016. He was third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2021. However, his batting average and slugging percentage have declined every season since then. Injuries kept him off the field for more than half of the season in 2023. He started the season on the IL this year as well. He was having a good spring training before a collision in the outfield kept him away from the Cardinals for nearly two months.
Carlson is a switch-hitting outfielder who had 30 doubles or more in his only two full seasons in the big leagues. He’ll turn 26 at the end of the season, and the Cardinals still have hope he can be a contributor. However, if the team needs to add a pitcher at the deadline to feel like it can compete this year, they may move on from Carlson.
