Cardinals' Breakout Veteran Predicted To Land On Trade Block

The St. Louis Cardinals are winning a lot of games this season, but they're still in the perfect position to rebuild their roster, especially if they can get some value out of potential trade pieces this summer.

The Cardinals have the roster to compete in two or three years if everything goes perfectly to plan, but they might need to trade away a few of their valuable players this season to push their franchise in the right direction.

Curt Bishop of FanSided recently suggested the Cardinals could use veteran pitcher Steven Matz as a trade chip before the trade deadline this season.

"Steven Matz has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts. After three straight injury-plagued seasons, he has found a home in the St. Louis bullpen," Bishop wrote. "He'll occasionally make a spot start or two, but the 34-year-old left-hander is 3-2 with a 2.41 ERA, which should boost his stock at either the trade deadline or when next offseason rolls around.

"He's valuable as a starter and a reliever and can fill multiple roles for a contending team. He might not bring back the biggest haul, but he isn't worth nothing, and it's worth shopping him for St. Louis."

Matz has been very consistent and very reliable for St. Louis in a few different roles this season. He holds a 2.41 ERA in 37 1/3 innings while maiking two spot starts on the year.

A team trading for Matz could use him as a starter or reliever this season. For a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Matz could work as a starter until their rotation gets healthy before shifting to the bullpen.

He's a valuable asset with a lot of tools. The Cardinals could land a decent prospect haul for the lefty and it wouldn't be too difficult for the team to replace him.