Cardinals Predicted To Solve Catcher Logjam By Trading For Braves Slugger

The St. Louis Cardinals are struggling lately. While they have outperformed expectations and are still five games over the .500 mark, they have now lost seven of their last 10 games.

They currently have a logjam of catchers in their system, starting at the Major League level with Pedro Pages and Yohel Pozo and ending in the minor leagues with Rainel Rodriguez, Leonardo Bernal and Jimmy Crooks.

If they buy at the trade deadline, they could potentially look to trade from their catching depth to supplement other needs.

However, Josh Jacobs of Redbird Rants proposed an interesting idea, that St. Louis should trade for Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy and that it could actually solve their logjam at the catcher position.

"The Cardinals are laying the groundwork for Ivan Herrera to change positions and end his days as a catcher. Many are skeptical of Pedro Pages or Yohel Pozo as the club's answer, and while they do have top prospects who are catchers, should you really bank on them being ready soon? And no, Willson Contreras is not a catcher anymore," Jacobs wrote.

"That's because Atlanta Braves' catcher Sean Murphy could cement himself as their long-term option behind the plate, be a major solution to their woes against left-handed pitching offensively, and allow the Cardinals to bring clarity to other position groups at the deadline or during this offseason."

Murphy is hitting .236/.315/.513 with 15 home runs, 35 RBI and an .828 OPS. He provides power from the right side of the plate and could be the long-term answer for St. Louis behind the plate.

They'll have to give up some key prospects to get the deal done, but this would also give them a proven right-handed power bat to boost their lineup. We'll see how the Cardinals navigate the deadline.