The St. Louis Cardinals are going to be an interesting team to watch this year at the trade deadline. They have several players on expiring contracts that teams will want.
However, they are also in contention, and throwing away the season by trading off every expiring asset wouldn't be wise. They could potentially look to make moves in both directions to balance winning with rebuilding.
But it's unclear what they will do at the trade deadline. Outgoing President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak has made several deadline moves.
Josh Jacobs of Redbird Rants urged Mozeliak to get creative and pull a page out of his 2011 book when he traded Colby Rasmus to clear out a logjam.
"What if the Cardinals traded one of their young bats like Nolan Gorman or Jordan Walker at the deadline to pursue a needed upgrade, knowing that names like Alec Burleson and Thomas Saggese can backfill?" Jacobs wrote.
"What if the Cardinals dealt a veteran starter like Erick Fedde or Miles Mikolas to a contender in order to bring in bullpen help or whatever other needs emerge?"
The Cardinals have several young players waiting in the wings that are stuck in Memphis looking for MLB opportunities. A trade of Gorman or Walker would allow them to open up a spot for Saggese.
A trade of a veteran starter would allow them to open a rotation spot for Michael McGreevy permanently.
It will certainly be interesting to see how St. Louis operates at this year's deadline.
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