Cardinals Who Remained Untraded During the Deadline but Might Be Transferred During the Offseason
St. Louis Cardinals Seek Trades to Solve Logjams and Bolster Farm System
The St. Louis Cardinals, despite recent trades, still have positional logjams that need to be addressed and a farm system that could use reinforcements. Chaim Bloom, the incoming president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, has been involved with the clubhouse all year and has gathered data on potential trade candidates.
After the deadline trades of Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton, and lefty Steven Matz, notable trade candidates on the Cardinals' major league or 40-man roster for this offseason revolve around second base, outfield depth, and starting pitcher Erick Fedde. The team seeks to add prospects or roster flexibility through these moves.
Players with less certainty like Erick Fedde and some at second base and outfield are the primary candidates still potentially available on the 40-man roster. The Cardinals have ample redundancies and surplus throughout their major-league roster and 40-man roster, and part of Bloom's job this offseason will be to trim the fat by trading some major leaguers.
Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, and Nolan Gorman are potential surplus in the Cardinals' outfield. Brendan Donovan has been the primary player at second base for the Cardinals this year. Nolan Gorman and Thomas Saggese could also be regulars at second base for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals were exploring trades for Nolan Arenado, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, and Alec Burleson, but no deals were made by the deadline. The club could be looking to clear space at second base and in the outfield.
JJ Wetherholt, the club's top prospect, could be promoted to the major leagues as soon as September. The organization didn't find the offers for their left-handed bats particularly impressive. The Cardinals have plenty of interest in their position players, and the odds of them landing a mid-rotation starter (or better) are high this offseason with the controllable players they have on the roster.
Chaim Bloom has been focusing more on the major-league roster now that he is weeks away from officially taking over as the Cardinals' president of baseball operations. He has been increasing the staff with executives like Larry Day and Rob Cerfolio, and changes made to pitching development have been significant for the Cardinals this year.
- To address the logjams in the roster and boost the farm system, the Cardinals are considering trading surplus players like Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, and Alec Burleson, who are potentially available on the 40-man roster.
- The Cardinals are also looking to trade players with less certainty in their roles, such as Erick Fedde (starting pitcher), and those in the second base and outfield positions, to add prospects or roster flexibility this offseason.
